Medivel Times
by King12345
Summary: kinda has some runescape a game stuff in it like lesser demons and rune swords
1. Part 1

Outside of Hivena castle, a storm raged. Clouds gathered, lightning  
  
danced, wind raced, and balls of ice and sheets of water fell, but  
  
everyone was safe inside the castle walls, hardly aware of its  
  
existence. But a thunderstorm loomed inside the castle, too, in the  
  
princess' private quarters.   
  
Princess Ariana quickly changed her clothes. 'How dare he' she  
  
thought angrily, looking down on her ruined dress. She quickly  
  
changed into a less new, but clean, dress, and was ready to storm  
  
back outside so she would at least be able to enjoy the *rest* of the  
  
night when her brother's words repeated themselves in her head,  
  
like an annoying conscience.   
  
"Promise me that you will write in your journal before you come  
  
back down," he urged her. He had a concerned look in his eyes.   
  
"Sure," she exasperated, wanting to just get out of there. "Whatever  
  
you say."   
  
Grudgingly, she got on her knees and looked under her bed. She  
  
fished through the junk until she felt smooth leather. She pulled out  
  
her book, then reached back under for a quill, then for an ink well.  
  
Each item had a thin layer of dust covering them, so Ariana used  
  
the hem of her brand new, lovely, perfect, *ruined* dress to wipe  
  
off the dust.   
  
She plopped herself on her bed, turned to the first page, and began  
  
writting furiously.   
  
"""""""""   
  
Oooo how DARE he!!! That little disrespectful clutz of a  
  
commoner boy without an inkling of grace...   
  
I'm sorry, but I am not very happy at the moment. In fact, I am  
  
furious, but I better start at the beginning. That way, you will see  
  
just how terrible that ~Marco is.   
  
Before I go on, it would be best if I introduce you to myself and my  
  
life. I am Princess Ariana, youngest child and only daughter of  
  
King Themis of the enchanted kingdom of Hivena. I have  
  
strawberry-blond hair and green eyes. As you no doubt know, all of  
  
the kings of Hivena are powerful magic-users, and all immediate  
  
kin to the king has unique powers. My power is the ability to read  
  
minds. Mother says that it is called 'telepathy.' I don't use it very  
  
often, not because I can't use it, but because I feel it is wrong to pry  
  
into others thoughts so freely.   
  
My eldest brother, Lecrian, has the power to see both the future and  
  
the past. He has very little control over it, but he would make a  
  
wonderful king. He has dark brown hair and brown eyes, and he is  
  
very serious but can laugh when the time is right. He looks out for  
  
others, and is very courageous and intelligent.   
  
The second eldest is Herlim. He is nothing like Lecrian. He can  
  
control the temperature of anything, and he has complete control  
  
over his power, but he cannot control himself. I swear, there is not  
  
a bigger flirt in all of Hivena. He is as hot-tempered and impulsive  
  
as his red hair makes him look, but is really quite charming, and he  
  
knows how to flatter people like no other.   
  
The third eldest son, Kortimer, has the strangest power of us all. I  
  
do not understand it very well, but I do know that he can 'link'  
  
things in unexplainable ways. He is a quiet prince, with blond hair  
  
and a lean build.   
  
Mother is a beautiful woman with silvery hair. I have never known  
  
anyone who has more strength, and she can lend this strength of  
  
hers to others.   
  
Father is truly a magnificient and wonderful king. I do not believe  
  
that there has ever been a more gracious, fair, capable king in all of  
  
Hivena's history. Other than his magic, Father can ... he can ...   
  
I never have seen father use his power. Strange how I never noticed  
  
'til now.   
  
Anyway, it appears that I will be beating my older brothers to the  
  
alter. I am engaged to Eran. Handsome Sir Eran, with his long  
  
black hair and deep blue eyes. His loyalty and bravery never falter.  
  
His smile can brighten a stormy day. His eyes shine with humor  
  
and a love of life and of me. His touch ... he is the ideal  
  
prince-to-be. I love him. For now I shall spare you, since soon this  
  
journal will be filled with him.   
  
Hivena has an enemy. His name is Zilos, evil summoner and ruler  
  
of Levakh. He has many allies, but Father, my brothers and all of  
  
Hivena have suceeded in defeating him time and again. Zilos has  
  
committed many crimes, but a month ago, Zilos did something that  
  
not even Father anticipated. He kidnapped me. I have done  
  
everything I could to free myself, but to no avail. I know that  
  
Father and my brothers have turned every stone looking for me, but  
  
they were no more successful in finding me than I at escaping.   
  
Last week, it wasn't my family who rescued me. It was a mere boy  
  
who has seen no more than fourteen years who found and rescued  
  
me. He did what no one else could do. He somehow snuck past all  
  
of Zilos' defenses, found me, and escaped Levakh without fighting  
  
a single battle. I know what he did to get me out. ... I cannot tell  
  
you now, for the memory is too fresh, but the boy frightens me.   
  
When I was safely home, I met this small gang of children who call  
  
themselves the Animorphs. They claim to have the power to  
  
change into any animal they touch without the use of magic.  
  
Whether they realize it or not, by doing so, they claim to have the  
  
powers of the royal family, for only the royal family can have such  
  
powers without needing magic. Somehow, during the month that I  
  
was away, these imposter children managed to win the hearts of all  
  
of the kingdom.   
  
Their leader is Jake. (What a strange name. All of them have  
  
strange names.) If I didn't know better, I would admire this boy. He  
  
has the talents, responsibility and quick mind of a leader, and yet  
  
does not abuse his position. He has a tiredness in him, a look of  
  
one bearing a terrible weight that no child should have to carry. He  
  
reminds me so much of Lecrian ... but he is an imposter. He must  
  
be.   
  
Jake's cousin is a girl named Rachel. I envy her. She has a natural  
  
beauty and grace that I cannot hope to match. As one of her friends  
  
said, she could 'walk through a mudslide, a hurricane, and a  
  
sandstorm, and still come out with every hair in place and not a  
  
speck of dirt on her clothes.' She has perfect blond hair and icy  
  
blue eyes and a tall, willowy body that attracts the eyes of even the  
  
most loyal of men, like a princess only found in myths and dreams.  
  
She will be beautiful all of her life. Everyone insists that she is a  
  
warrior and that she is braver, more reckless, and more powerful  
  
and dangerous than even my Eran, but I do not believe it.   
  
Cassie is the only other girl in the gang. She is best friends with  
  
Rachel, but she is just the opposite in both appearance and  
  
disposition. She is short and solidly built, with black, short, curly  
  
hair and dark brown eyes and dark skin. She is a gentle girl, and  
  
she seems to be more of a healer than the hero everyone claims she  
  
and her friends are. She must be an imposter, too, but I cannot help  
  
but like her kindness and sensitivity.   
  
Marco. That slug. That complete and total idiot. I cannot believe he  
  
is Jake's best friend. Short, with dark hair and eyes, he is like a  
  
clown, never taking anything seriously. His wit makes my stomach  
  
churn, with its endless array of jokes and limitless supply of  
  
sarcasm. He is the one who embarrassed me, though my brother  
  
insists that it was an accident. He is so annoying, I have no idea  
  
how he gained the respect of my levelheaded brothers. Maybe he  
  
brainwashed them.   
  
There are two more of these Animorphs, but I hesitate to tell you  
  
about them. The four I told you about are, despite everything,  
  
human. The last two, Tobias and Aximili, are not.   
  
Tobias is the one who rescued me. He is a creature called a hawk,  
  
but everyone insists that he is really a human trapped in that body,  
  
that he was a gentle boy before he became a predator. When Tobias  
  
is in his human body, I can almost believe them. Though his face is  
  
forever frozen in a mask of emotionlessness, his eyes tear at my  
  
heart. The sadness there is so great, as if he knows more sorrow in  
  
his short life than most men in their whole lifetime. But when I see  
  
him turn into a hawk, and those eyes harden into the sharp golden  
  
brown, I remember what else he turned into at the tower, and I  
  
know better than to trust him. I will never forget the monster he  
  
became before my eyes.   
  
Aximili does not even pretend to be human. He claims to be a  
  
creature called an Andalite. His natural form is a bizaar apparation:  
  
blue fur, four eyes (two of those eyes are on swiveling stalks), with  
  
a mouthless, humanlike face on a centuar's body that ends with a  
  
scary scythe-like blade on the end of a muscular tail. Like the  
  
Animorphs, he can change into other creatures, but he can also turn  
  
into a human. As a human, he is clumsy, plays with sounds, and  
  
eats worse than a starved pig. Every mean to him is a feeding  
  
frenzy. When he is not in his human form, he is intelligent, but  
  
slightly arrogant. I do not like him very much.   
  
In celebration of my safe return Father is holding a ball and a feast.  
  
At least, he says that the celebration is for me. I feel as if he is  
  
really honoring the children, but what can I do? Besides, the dance  
  
will allow me to spend some time with Eran, something I have not  
  
been able to do but sparingly since my rescue. He has been gone so  
  
much ...   
  
Even though the air crackled with energy from the coming storm,  
  
the ball was wonderful. Magic lit the air and fine-tuned the music  
  
played by a real orchestra. Everyone danced, and for a little while I  
  
forgot my suspicions about the integrity of the children and just  
  
danced. I had kept an eye out for Eran, but he was late. As I looked  
  
for my fianc‚, I spied the children and my brothers. Marco (that  
  
ham) was with human-Aximili, entertaining a crowd with his sharp  
  
wit while Aximili remained quiet, delighting the crowd every time  
  
he opened his mouth. Marco made sure that Aximili never saw the  
  
refreshments.   
  
Kortimer mingled, not really interested in attracting attention. He is  
  
so shy, especially for a prince.   
  
For some reason, Lecrian didn't join in the merriment. He stood  
  
watch over the people, continually checking on the guards. This  
  
disturbed me. Lecrian is serious, but not so serious that he would  
  
not enjoy a ball. It was as if he was anxiously waiting for  
  
something to happen. If it was anyone else acting like that, I may  
  
have laughed, but this was Lecrian.   
  
Herlim approached grim Lecrian with a bright smile on his face.  
  
He tried to convince him to lighten up, but when he failed, he  
  
walked back to his ladies-in-waiting, not letting Lecrian's  
  
gloominess affect him. Herlim's eyes landed on radiant Rachel and  
  
he suavely invited her to dance.   
  
She turned him down. She turned the most popular ladies-man in  
  
the world down. Oh, that astonished, uncomprehending look on  
  
Herlim's face was worth a king's ransom. Even Lecrian accidently  
  
let a smile creep into his face as she distainfully pushed Herlim  
  
away and left him with his mouth hanging open. I could almost like  
  
her after that.   
  
Rachel went to Tobias. Tobias looked scared to be at the party  
  
(even more so than Kortimer) standing alone in a corner eating a  
  
small morsel. Rachel had taken him out to the dance floor. She  
  
took his hand with an uncharacteristic tenderness and taught him  
  
how to dance. She as graceful as a cat, he as shy as a rabbit ...  
  
watching them almost made me cry. She had turned Herlim down  
  
to dance with a clumsy boy with uncontrollable hair and sad eyes.   
  
Then I noticed the other Animorph couple, Jake and Cassie.  
  
Discreetly, they sat on a bench, watching everyone else yet talking  
  
to each other, their hands touching tenderly, almost accidently.  
  
Like me and Eran used to do before we fully accepted the fact that  
  
we loved each other.   
  
Suddenly, I really wanted Eran. What could be taking him so long?  
  
Legend has it that it is the men who should be waiting for the  
  
women, not the other way around. Then I saw him.   
  
"Eran!" I called to him as he finally entered the room. He turned to  
  
me with a smile and swaggered over.   
  
Swagger? That is odd ... I don't remembering Eran having an ego,  
  
but I was just too happy then to really notice at the time.   
  
Together, we went over to the refreshment table for punch, me  
  
chatting the whole time. Eran seemed different, but that was  
  
alright. It has been a long time since I've seen him, and I was just  
  
happy that he was there. I wanted wine, but Lecrian wouldn't have  
  
wine at the dance. He was so sure that something would go wrong  
  
that he wanted everyone to remain completely sober.   
  
That table was where Marco spilled his punch on me. Finally  
  
breaking away from the crowd, he walked up to Eran alone and  
  
began to chat with him while I got some punch. With my back  
  
turned to him, I felt a cold splash all across my back. I screamed  
  
and turned around to see that oaf Marco standing there with an  
  
empty, wet glass in his hand.   
  
"Uh... maybe the punch was spiked, anyway," he said lamely.  
  
"Sorry."   
  
My face grew hot with rage and embarrassment. "You ... you ..." I  
  
couldn't find the right words to say. I was too angry and  
  
embarrassed to.   
  
I stomped away. I just wanted to get out of there. Eran,  
  
understanding Eran, followed a few steps behind me.   
  
Lecrian didn't understand.   
  
"I saw what happened," he said, catching up to walk beside me. "It  
  
was an accident. Somebody bumped him. He is really sorry."   
  
I turned on him. "You're taking his side?!?"   
  
He was started by my question. "What side?" I cut him off before  
  
he could say anything more.   
  
"Well, you can have him and all the rest of those imposters. They  
  
claim to be heroes, so they are given a huge party -- with *me* as  
  
an afterthought. 'Oh, by the way, and Princess Ariana is home.'"  
  
Lecrian tried to say something, but I was not done. "I can't wait to  
  
see you realize that they are decieving you and the whole kingdom.  
  
I just can't wait."   
  
"Same here," Eran put in, supporting me.   
  
Lecrian shocked expression wore off, replaced by a hard look.  
  
"You are wrong, Ariana. These young heroes have done so much  
  
good for the kingdom while you were gone. Did you know that  
  
while we were out searching for you, Zilos attacked the castle? He  
  
attacked time and time again, using the many creatures under his  
  
control. Demons, ghosts, ogres, vampires, werewolves, elementals,  
  
this kingdom would have been lost without them. I would not be  
  
here." He shot Eran, his best friend, a look. "Eran would not be  
  
here." He looked back at me. "You would not be here. Yes, they  
  
are extremely young. Yes, they are a mystery to us. But if they are  
  
working for Zilos, if they are trying to usurp the kingdom or rob or  
  
betray us, they could have done so a hundred times already instead  
  
of saving our lives time and time again. Rurga knows that they  
  
have had the opportunity. You do them much wrong to accuse  
  
them of being false for no other reason than for your vanity. I am  
  
overjoyed that you are home safely, and this party *is* for you, but  
  
you must get this straight: the world does not revolve around you,  
  
Ariana. No one in the family must ever think that way."   
  
I couldn't say anything. Lecrian has never been so blunt before. I  
  
looked for Eran for   
  
support, but he was gone.   
  
Lecrian's eyes softened. "Now," he said, letting me know that he is  
  
not angry with me. "Let's do something about that dress of yours."  
  
And he walked me to my room.   
  
As we walked, I looked closer at Lecrian. His clothing, though nice  
  
enough for the ball, was older than my dress. A sword hung by his  
  
hip, ready to be drawn at a moments notice. His eyes ... I didn't  
  
notice until then just how tired Lecrian was. He had a haunted look  
  
in his eyes, and bags under them, as if he has not been getting  
  
enough sleep, and his shoulders slumped. But he should have been  
  
rested. I have been home for a few days, and no one has attacked  
  
during that time. Whatever horrors he saw in the month that I was  
  
gone should have been slept away.   
  
"Lecrian, what's wrong?" I asked, genuinely concerned.   
  
"I have been having dreams," he said simply, as if that explained  
  
everything.   
  
Then I realized it. "You cannot control them?"   
  
He laughed grimly, as if I said something funny, but without  
  
humor. "I have been absolutely bombarded. I wake up screaming,  
  
shaking with fear and fever, but the fever dissipates before the  
  
dawn, though the fear remains. Every time I close my eyes, I see  
  
them."   
  
"See who?" I asked after a long silence.   
  
"The Animorphs."   
  
That surprised me. What was so important about these frauds that  
  
Lecrian would be haunted by his power? I was about to ask, but he  
  
continued, as if knowing what I would say.   
  
"I do not see their future, really, but I have been seeing bits and  
  
pieces of their past. Immensely powerful beings, battles, a traitor,  
  
things that I could only explain as magic but is not ... nothing I can  
  
understand. Each vision is more powerful and urgent than the last,  
  
and now ... now I even see the dreams when I am awake. In the  
  
very corners of my eyes, I see movement. I hear voices so faint that  
  
I could almost believe they are my imagination. It doesn't stop. It  
  
hasn't stopped since the day you came home."   
  
I stayed silent. I was afraid for my brother, and I still am. His  
  
power, though he never could fully control it, never controlled him  
  
before. No wonder he could not relax, despite his weariness.   
  
Then I felt the cold, sticky wetness all over my back, and I was  
  
irritated again. I let that irritability grow in me. Anger is so much  
  
better than fear and worry.   
  
It was then that Lecrian made me promise to write in this journal. I  
  
have to wonder about that.   
  
Thunder? I could have sworn I heard thunder rolling, but that is  
  
imposible. Father had silenced the *   
  
  
  
BOOM!   
  
The crash was so loud that Ariana dropped her pen, ruining her  
  
clean dress. She didn't notice.   
  
BOOM! even louder. The stone walls trembled.   
  
"GRAAEAEAEAEAAEAAGH!!!" something roared. It was so  
  
deafening loud that Ariana clapped her hands over her ears until  
  
the echoes died away.   
  
"By Rurga! What is going on?!?" Ariana leaped out of her bed and  
  
ran through the door.   
  
She followed the screams from the ballroom, Lecrian's fear  
  
looming over her like a cloud. Only then did she remember that  
  
there was a storm outside. 


	2. Part 2

The night before...   
  
"You know what I want," Tobias's hoarse, tear-choked voice rang  
  
out in the darkness. "You know!"   
  
Lecrian shuttered, trying to wake up.   
  
An image appeared in the swirling darkness. Jake, the leader of the  
  
young heroes, crawling on his hands and knees, trembling and pale,  
  
trying to hide.Beyond him, a giant throne materialized. Atop the  
  
throne sat an abomination.Lecrian tried to close his eyes, but that  
  
was impossible in dreams.   
  
The creature sitting upon the throne was huge. It towered above all  
  
of the giants that Lecrian had ever seen, above the mighty dragons,  
  
and even above, itseemed, the very clouds that decorated the sky. It  
  
was a creature that seemedfully alive, but it was a strange  
  
amalgamy of metal and flesh. But that was notthe worst. At the  
  
very top of this monstrous giant sat, in place of a head, an eye. A  
  
huge, blood-red eye that turned every which way, seeing  
  
everything,looking for something.   
  
Jake. It was looking for Jake.   
  
The eye looked down. It saw him. And Jake knew it saw him.   
  
I know an unfamiliar voice said, not attacted to this part of the  
  
dream. Butalready there used to be six of you and now there is  
  
five. Soon, Jake, it'll befour.   
  
Jake, pale as a sheet, oblivious to the voice, staring wide-eyed at  
  
the Big Red Eye, opened his mouth to scream.   
  
Lecrian suddenly sat up in his bed, panting. His eyes frantically  
  
searched the room until he recognized his home. He looked down  
  
on the sheets, and saw thatboth they and himself were drenched in  
  
cold sweat. Throwing the covers off andgingerly putting his feet  
  
down on the cold rug, Lecrian, crown prince of Hineva,buried his  
  
burning face into his hot, sweaty hands and trembled in fear.  
  
Hestayed that way for a long time, waiting for his heart to stop  
  
pounding and forhis shakiness to go away. He forced himself to his  
  
feet and got dressed.   
  
He double checked the whole castle. A few of his guards were  
  
asleep, but never a pair asleep at once. He looked in both rooms  
  
where four of the heroes slept, but they were safe and fast asleep,  
  
totally undisturbed. With his faithful guards   
  
standing watch, nothing could reach them without loosing an arm,  
  
or at least theedge of surprize. Then he went to the stalls, woke and  
  
prepared his horse, androde into the forest. Soon, he found the last  
  
two children, but they were awakewhen he found them.   
  
Sure that something had happened, Lecrian asked "Is everything  
  
alright?" with genuine concern.   
  
Tobias seemed to stretch in his tree. Is that it? He asked  
  
grumpily. Of course everything is alright, unless you consider  
  
loosing sleep because a jockeydecided to go on a midnight stroll  
  
with his horse in the woods is something toreport.   
  
Lecrian was taken aback. He's never seen this side of Tobias  
  
before.   
  
Aximili noticed his expression and explained. Tobias is  
  
sometimes irritable when awaken.   
  
Tobias sighed and fluttered down to a lower branch. Sorry he  
  
apologized. So,what inspired you to come and wake us?   
  
"I didn't mean to wake you," Lecrian smiled. "I sincerely tried to be  
  
as quiet as possible. How did you know I was coming?"   
  
Hawk hearing is better than humans. And Andalites Aximili  
  
added reluctantly, And even when I sleep I always keep an eye  
  
open.   
  
Lecrian smiled all the more. These two couldn't be ambushed very  
  
easily, and each one can easily take care of himself. They would  
  
not be in danger. "I justfelt I should check up on all of you."   
  
More dreams? Tobias asked. Lecrian nodded.   
  
"I better let you two go back to sleep. Big day tomarrow." And he  
  
turned around to remount his horse.   
  
Lecrian? Tobias asked. Lecrian paused. Get your sleep,  
  
alright? If you are right about these dreams of yours, you will need  
  
every minute of rest you canget.   
  
Lecrian rode off, deciding not to trouble the youths with his  
  
troubles.   
  
The next day, before the dance...   
  
Lecrian walked down a long stone hallway. The ball would start  
  
soon, and he needed to be there to make sure that the heroic  
  
children would remain safe.Glimpses of images floated on the edge  
  
of his vision, but he tried very hard toignore them, since he could  
  
not make them go away.   
  
"Hey, Lecrian!" a deep voice bellowed behind him. Lecrian spun  
  
around, and relaxed when he saw who it was.   
  
"Eran!" His face split into a grin as his brother-in-law-to-be and  
  
best friend roughly shook his hand. "Where have you been all  
  
day?"   
  
"You must be older than you look, old friend. I was out hunting,  
  
remember?"   
  
Lecrian remembered. He suddenly felt sheepish.   
  
"Well," Eran continued, letting his Prince off the hook, "You  
  
should have seen ..." His eyes suddenly became unfocused, as if  
  
looking at something in thedistance, which couldn't be very far,  
  
considering he was facing a wall. Behindhim, a dark blur darted  
  
away and disappeared into a crack in the wall.   
  
Lecrian waited a second. He didn't like this. "Eran," he called  
  
trying to get a response. Eran didn't answer.   
  
"Eran!" he called louder, shaking his shoulders. He was about to  
  
call again when Eran began to come to.   
  
"Huh? Wha? Stop shaking me." Lecrian did. Eran shook his head,  
  
then looked sheepishly at his friend. "I guess you're not the only  
  
one who is loosing hismind due to old age." Eran tried to joke,  
  
seeing his friend's overly concernedface. "I just blanked out for a  
  
second."   
  
"More like ten." Lecrian countered without a hint of humor. "You  
  
should go and rest."   
  
"But I feel perfectly fine."   
  
"'Fine' people don't just blank out in mid-sentence like that.  
  
Besides," he continued, with a hint of slyness in his voice, "you  
  
wouldn't want to be tootired tonight at the dance. Your fiancee's  
  
back, and I assure you she won't stopmoving once the dance starts."   
  
Eran smiled slyly back. "You really know how to play dirty."   
  
"Yep."   
  
Eran laughed. Not a hint of his daze lingered, Lecrian noticed.   
  
"Alright, I'll go. Besides, I don't think she'll want to see me like  
  
this." Eran said as he showed Lecrian his dirt-ground hunting  
  
clothes. "See you later, yourHighness." he said, bowing low.   
  
Lecrian rolled his eyes self-mockingly and pushed his friend in the  
  
direction of his room.   
  
Once Lecrian left Eran and Eran shut the door, the rat that hid in  
  
the crack crept out. It scurried to Eran's room and slipped under the  
  
door. A few minuteslater, Eran yelled in startled explamation, but  
  
his cry was cut short by a heavythud. Soon, sounds of something  
  
being drug across the floor emerged, followedbut more movement  
  
sounds.   
  
The rat scurried out of the room, looked both ways, and hurried  
  
through a crack in the wall to a space behind it. It pulled out a  
  
metallic object that no one but the Animorphs have seen before,  
  
and dragged it back under the door of Eran'sroom.   
  
No one saw. No one heard. A few hours later, just as the dance was  
  
about to begin, Eran opened the door and stepped out.  
  
Double-checked his doublet to seeif his weapon was there.  
  
Grinning wickedly, he locked the door and threw thekeys into the  
  
crack in the wall. Whistling a song that he could not havepossibly  
  
have known, Eran swaggered to the dance.   
  
* * * * *   
  
"I am terribly sorry," Eran appologized to Marco as the angry  
  
princess, Ariana, stormed away. He quickly followed her.   
  
"Don't try and butter me up now!" Marco yelled after him, "You  
  
owe me a free refill after being attacked by a certain jealous  
  
boyfriend I could mention!"Marco would have gone on with his  
  
much exaggerated account of the bump Eran gavehim which got  
  
him in such trouble with Ariana, but Ax interrupted him. Ax  
  
wasbusy stuffing his face with treats while trying to say something  
  
at the sametime.   
  
"Swallow, Ax," Marco said. "You're not in snake morph."   
  
Ax obediently swallowed, and with great self control said, "Marco,  
  
Tobias and I only have thirty of your minutes left."   
  
"And stop saying 'your minutes' since you are stuck with them,  
  
too." Marco was pretending to be angry, not only because Eran  
  
made him spill his punch, butbecause he was getting ready to cut in  
  
between her and Eran, too. Besides, hereally was annoyed by Ax's  
  
constant "your" minutes, hours, days, years, etcetera. Then he  
  
looked at the center of the dancce floor, where Rachel andTobias  
  
danced.   
  
A crooked smile crossed his face. "And good luck. You'll have to  
  
try and pry Bird-boy from the death-grip of Xena over there  
  
without having your liver tornout." He made a "tsk" sound several  
  
times, swinging his head back and forthsadly. "Poor, poor Ax,  
  
they'll say. He was such a good, sensible blue-furred,freaky  
  
four-eyes, scorpion-tailed centaur from planet Zenon 16.  
  
Whateverpossessed him to go and face Xena, Warrior Princess? To  
  
save helpless Bird-boyin her clutches?"   
  
Ax looked at Marco with no comprehension in his eyes. Then,  
  
realizing that Marco, his friend with the strongest case of 'humor'  
  
of his five friends, beganto laugh.   
  
"Hah. Hah. Ha--" Marco clapped a hand over Ax's mouth, silencing  
  
him.   
  
"Please," Marco begged, sounding pained, "Don't do that."   
  
A few minutes later, Ax and Tobias were on their way to their  
  
dressing room. Jake and Cassie left the ballroom to talk on the  
  
sheltered balcony. Rachel, much to the dismay and severe  
  
disappointment of many of the elligible batchlors,decided that she  
  
was thirsty, and no, she does not want someone to fetch it forher.  
  
The young men finally got the hint and left her alone. Rachel,  
  
glowingsmugly at Marco's downtrodden expression, joined him.   
  
"Oh, yeah, what a night," she greeted him happily. "What will it  
  
take to get those poor souls to look for someone else?"   
  
"A good, long sniff," Marco poked at her, cringing his nose.  
  
"Woooowee! What did you put on tonight? La Femme Sweatte?"   
  
"It's obviously working better than whatever you're wearing.  
  
Exactly how many times have you been asked out onto the dance  
  
floor? Hmmmmm?"   
  
"Hey, you saw that crowd around me. They like my special  
  
charisma. They loved me."   
  
"Actually, I think they just wanted to see Ax since they lost you.  
  
Nothing personal, but they just can't see you over each other's  
  
shoulders." And theywent on and on, enjoying their insult and  
  
comeback game.   
  
Than Rachel became serious. She looked at the guards surrounding  
  
the ballroom.   
  
"Have you noticed the guards?" she asked.   
  
"How could I not notice them. Lecrian has been very, very edgy."   
  
"Tobias said that Lecrian was wandering around in the woods last  
  
night. He said that he was checking up on each of us. You know, to  
  
see if we are alright."   
  
"And you think these guards are here for the same reason?"   
  
"Yep."   
  
"I agree. Thanks." The last word was directed at Eran, who handed  
  
Marco a glass of punch.   
  
"Oh, yes, now I remember why I came over here in the first place,"  
  
she remarked as she reached for a cup.   
  
"Uh, uh, uh." Marco intercepted her. Grinning widely, he  
  
extravagantly bowed to her, then dramatically and slowly picked  
  
up a cup and filled it to the brim. He bowed to her again, holding  
  
the cup delicately out to her.   
  
Rachel rolled her eyes, but accepted the punch.   
  
But Marco wasn't done yet. "Would you like for me too sing for  
  
you, oh vision of queenly loveliness?"   
  
"Please, Marco. This is a ball, not a haunted house. We don't want  
  
to scare these poor people off."   
  
"We don't?" Marco asked, eyes wide in innocence.   
  
"No, stupid." Rachel was getting irritated.   
  
"Was that a royal 'we'?" Marco inquired.   
  
"Shut up, Marco," Rachel threatened.   
  
"Yes, your highness, Warrior Princess Xena."   
  
"Marco," she said sweetly, "if you do not shut up, you'll be missing  
  
a kidney."   
  
Marco laughed. He gulped his punch down, than grimaced. The  
  
punch had a strange aftertaste.   
  
boom   
  
The crowd grew silent. There was a storm outside, but King  
  
Themis said that no thunder would be heard in the castle.   
  
Unnoticed, Marco began to feel queesy. He felt as if the room was  
  
spinning.   
  
Boom! Lecrian and his guards began to evacuate the people.  
  
Rachel put her glass down and focused her mind on whatever was  
  
coming. Whatever was making thebooming noise, it wasn't  
  
thunder, and it wasn't staying still. That meant thatit was alive and  
  
getting closer.   
  
Unnoticed, Marco began to sway. He dropped his glass and  
  
grabbed onto the table, trying to fight off his dizziness.   
  
CRACKKKKK!!!!! Suddenly, part of the edge of the ceiling and  
  
wall were gone.   
  
Stone screamed and tore. Sheets of rain poured in through the  
  
broken ceiling. People screamed and ran from the room, seeking  
  
safety from whatever it was thatcaused the stone to cry in pain.  
  
Rachel lost her footing as the castle shook   
  
like it was hit by an earthquake, sending both her and Marco to the  
  
ground. Rachel saw the tear in the ceiling and wall and saw the  
  
debris fall, but no onewas hurt. Or so she thought.   
  
One cry of despair rang from the darkness outside, from the  
  
balcony. It belonged to a voice she knew very, very well.   
  
"JAKE! NOOOOOOOO!!!" Cassie screamed.   
  
Lightning flashed soundlessly, illuminating the scene for a brief  
  
second that seemed to last forever. Cassie was pushing herself off  
  
the floor, her eyeslocked in horror on Jake. Jake layed still as  
  
death, crushed beneath a fallenrock. Beyond them both, beyond the  
  
balcony's edge and looking at them, twoblack, fiery eyes glowed,  
  
teeth two feet long gleamed, and scales the size offists glistened off  
  
a serpentine neck and head and gigantic wings. Even  
  
Rachelrecognized it for what it was. A dragon.   
  
"GRAAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!" the dragon roared in truimph.   
  
"Cassie!! Jake!! Look out!!" Rachel screamed as the light  
  
disappeared. She pushed herself up to her feet, searching her mind  
  
for a morph that could help.   
  
She was about to just run into the darkness as she was for fear that  
  
she didn't have time to morph when a hand clasped her ankle.   
  
Rachel snapped her head to Marco, who was holding her ankle.  
  
"Get up, Marco!" she yelled at him. "A dragon has attacked Cassie  
  
and Jake. They need our help.Now!"   
  
Marco groaned. She barely heard him as he tried to say something.   
  
Weakly, beating past the fog in his mind and the pain blinding him,  
  
Marco begged "help."   
  
Rachel had no idea what was wrong with Marco. All she knew was  
  
that he needed her help. She looked back to where Cassie and Jake  
  
were, trying to decide whatto do.   
  
King Themis and his sons made the decision a lot easier for her.  
  
Lecrian shouted orders to his many soldiers, leading some onto the  
  
balcony, sending others tothe high catwalks of the ballroom where  
  
longbows and quivers full of arrows, and sending the rest outside  
  
the ballroom so they could fight the dragon on groundlevel. King  
  
Themis lifted one hand while the other flashed. The rock on  
  
Jakelifted,light illiminated the night, and the rain disappeared.  
  
Cassie ran over to Jake,and Crimber stood between them and the  
  
dragon, holding a body-length shield.Herlim focused on his sword  
  
and the weapons of the soldiers, making them glowred-hot. And  
  
Cassie, the fastest and best morpher, began to change.   
  
Rachel reached down to Marco and shook him vigorously. "Get up,  
  
you idiot. Morph!"   
  
"Poison," Marco murmured, trying to focus his thoughts.   
  
"Figure it out later! Just morph before you die." And she shook him  
  
all the more violently.   
  
Yes. Morph, Marco thought. Didn't know why, but yes. And Marco  
  
began to grow. Black hair shot up from his skin as he muscles upon  
  
muscles ripped out of hisfrail frame. The clothes streached and  
  
began to tear, but he didn't care. Thepain and fog and dizziness was  
  
dissipitating, and he was feeling a lot betteralready.   
  
A new voice screamed. Marco turned around to see Ariana  
  
standing in the doorway, hand over mouth and eyes wide in terror.   
  
Hey, it's only me. Tall, dark, handsome Marco. Now I come with  
  
muscles. He wasn't nearly done morphing, but he was morphed  
  
enough for thought-speak.   
  
"Marco. She could care less if you are a gorilla or not, since there  
  
really is no difference between it and you. But she's not looking at  
  
you."   
  
Marco turned to face her, only halfway done morphing. He saw the  
  
battle outside.   
  
Oh.   
  
"Marco you idiot, go to your demon morph."   
  
Yep. No problem, Xena. And Marco reversed the morphing  
  
process, getting smaller. Last, his gorilla hair disappeared, leaving  
  
him in shreaded rags.   
  
"And why aren't you morphing, may I ask?"   
  
Rachel looked hard at the battle outside. "None of us have a morph  
  
that could take that thing."   
  
Marco clicked. "What?!? Are you INSANE!?! You're going to  
  
morph that?!?"   
  
"Just morph, Marco." she said calmly, then laughed that insane  
  
laugh of hers and bounded away.   
  
"Oh, man." Marco began to morph again.   
  
* * * * *   
  
A few minutes earlier...   
  
Morph, Jake. a voice yelled at him. A familiar voice. But he was  
  
mostly unconscious. Just now did a hint of awareness arrive, and  
  
with it, a world ofpain. His whole body was wraked with pain  
  
beyond description, and he was aboutto slip back into painless  
  
unconsciousness.   
  
Jake, please the tantilizingly familiar voice pleaded. Please,  
  
wake up. Morph. Please.   
  
Cassie. The voice in his head was Cassie.   
  
Please, Jake, don't die. Please don't die. We need you. I need  
  
you. Cassie plead, her gentle voice crying.   
  
Jake moaned. He fought back the darkness, and instantly regretted  
  
it as the agonizing pain flooded back.   
  
Now he remembered. There was a loud sound, like thunder. the  
  
castle shuttered. A rock fell, almost hit Cassie. He pushed her out  
  
of the way. It hit him instead.   
  
The pain. He knew what that pain was. It was broken back, crushed  
  
ribs, and pierced lungs. He was dying.   
  
In the instant of clarity before death, Jake lifted his eyes, looked  
  
past Crimber and saw the dragon and Cassie. Cassie was an earth  
  
elemental, using allof the earth powers at her command to fend off  
  
the dragon many times her size.   
  
Cassie. He always did like her.   
  
Please, Jake, I can't lose you now. Morph. Morph werewolf.   
  
What a good idea, thought Jake approvingly, sleepily, no longer  
  
feeling the pain of his broken body. He could feel himself slip  
  
away, but he remembered what the werewolf looked like and  
  
without realizing it began to change.   
  
He knew when he began changing when the pain flooded back to  
  
him, worse than ever.   
  
"AAAAAAH!!" he screamed.   
  
Jake! You're alive! Cassie cried jubilantly. Then she, too,  
  
screamed in pain,as the dragon took advantage of her distraction  
  
and swiped her with a massivepaw, sending her flying.   
  
"You're alive!" Crimber yelled, startled, almost dropping his shield.   
  
Jake didn't reply. He bit his lip to keep from screaming more, and  
  
focused on morphing the werewolf. Thick, grey fur rippled up and  
  
down his body. His facebuldged outwards to form the 'wolf's  
  
muzzle. Suddenly, the pain was gone.Completely and totally gone.   
  
'Of course!' Jake thought, as he remembered how fast real  
  
werewolf healed after every wound. Closed up like water.   
  
He continued morphing, but as he morphed he surveyed his  
  
surroundings.   
  
Jake surveyed his suroundings. The soldiers futilely charged the  
  
dragon, weapons glowing red-hot. Arrows burst into flame as they  
  
flew from the ballroom, somesticking to the black scales but most  
  
bouncing off. Lecrian and Herlim foughtwith the soldiers on foot,  
  
trying to distract the dragon from Cassie. Crimber,recovering from  
  
the scare Jake gave him, stood his ground between the dragon  
  
andJake, shielding him from view. Strangely enough, the King  
  
wasn't doing anythingmuch. In fact, he seemed to be in a daze, as if  
  
his mind was somewhere else.Cassie was on her feet, and faced the  
  
dragon again. The huge, black dragonscreamed in rage, shaking off  
  
the soldiers, ignoring the arrows and soldiers and focusing on  
  
Cassie. Looking back in the ballroom, Jake saw Ariana  
  
standingparalyzed in the doorway. Something about her being there  
  
bothered Jake for somereason, but he didn't have the time to think  
  
of why. Marco was busy demorphingfrom gorilla. Rachel looked  
  
hard at the battle, then turned back at Marco.   
  
Jake looked back at the thrashing dragon. Crimber, tell me  
  
everything you know about the dragon.   
  
Keeping his eyes on it, Crimber yelled over his shoulder, "Dragons  
  
have many special abilities. They are immensly strong, fast, agile,  
  
immune to fire andpoison, and can see in the dark and the  
  
invisible, and fly. They are highly intelligent and generally have a  
  
high sense of honor. There really is not muchthat could hurt them.  
  
They are possibly the most powerful allies we have."   
  
Allies? Jake asked, surprized.   
  
"Yes, allies. But a few months ago, the Dragon King informed us  
  
of a renegade who hates Father for some reason. That renegade  
  
disappeared, but I don't doubtthat this is him."   
  
Jake looked at King Themis, who seemed to have broken out of his  
  
trance. Themis looked at the dragon and then, with a wave of his  
  
hand, made the nearbybuildings disappear.   
  
What about your father? Why isn't he helping?   
  
"A long time ago, an covenant was made between the dragons and  
  
us. The dragon can't harm the King, but Father can't hurt him. It's  
  
immune to Father's magic."   
  
I see. Jake was almost all werewolf, now. Feeling ready, he  
  
slunk away from behind Crimber and got ready to leap into the  
  
fray. His sensitive ears caughtevery twang of the bows and every  
  
footfall. He could hear Crimber's heartpounding. His nose, though  
  
not as acute as a wolf's, caught the overpoweringscent of fresh rain,  
  
sweat, blood, wet earth, dragon, and fear. His predatoreyes focused  
  
on the dragon, looking for a weak spot, and the werewolf mind  
  
foundone. Muscles bunched, claws sharp, Jake got ready to spring.   
  
Jake! Marco yelled. Startled, Jake flinched, but not towards the  
  
dragon. Jakeglared angerly at Marco, who was human except for  
  
his head, which grew fangs andwas now too large for the rest of his  
  
frail body. Jake saw the tiniest glimpseof Rachel blowing past the  
  
helpless Ariana.   
  
What? Jake yelled back, the werewolf in him thoroughly  
  
annoyed at the delay.   
  
Psycho-woman Rachel is going to try and morph that thing!   
  
Jake froze, and his own mind was in complete control again. He  
  
knew his cousin inside and out. She was impulsive and very direct  
  
and sometimes even dangerous,but she knew how to fight better  
  
than any of them. If she wants to morph the   
  
renegade dragon, that means that she thinks that they didn't have  
  
enough firepower to take it. Looking back at the whale-sized  
  
reptile, Jake had toagree.   
  
She'll need help.   
  
What?!? You're saying that Rachel waltzing out there in a dress  
  
and shaking hands with that overgrown lizard the size of Idaho so  
  
she could clone it isokay?!?   
  
It turns out she is right. Now hurry and finish morphing. We need  
  
your help.   
  
You want *Xena* to turn into a T-Rex version of a bronsosaur?  
  
Marco continued.   
  
Now, Marco.   
  
Yes, Prince Jake. Marco said obediently, imitating Ax.   
  
Please, not you, too.   
  
Yes. Prince Jake.   
  
Once again, Jake had that nagging feeling that he was missing  
  
something. Pushing the doubt to the back of his mind, Jake turned  
  
his thoughts to Rachel.   
  
Rachel, Jake yelled as loud as he could. I hope you can hear  
  
me, 'cause Ineed to tell you something. Don't try and acquire the  
  
dragon until I give theword. Got it? He didn't expect a reply, since  
  
Rachel was most likely in humanform and couldn't thought-speak.   
  
Then, Jake turned back to the battle and once again got ready to  
  
pounce.   
  
The battle wasn't going very well. The dragon, as Marco pointed  
  
out, was as big as the any of the biggest of dinosaurs, while Cassie  
  
was only ten feet tall.Many soldiers were injured badly. Arrows  
  
rained down in it until the dragon grew tired of them. It breathed  
  
fire at the archers, setting the wooden weapons andthe tapestries on  
  
fire. The archers would have died, but King Themis teleportedthe  
  
men out of the blast's way just in time. Lecrian was injured badly,  
  
andHerlim knelt next to him, listening intently to what Lecrian was  
  
telling him.Crimber, no longer having to guard Jake, ran back into  
  
the burning court to geta spear. A stone wall shot up between the  
  
soldiers and the dragon, shieldingthem from the dragon's whip-like  
  
tail. Any soldiers left inside the wallsuddenly disappeared, only to  
  
materialize on the safe side.   
  
None of this was important to the dragon. His name was Saurat,  
  
and nothing could challenge him. The little men, the wall, the royal  
  
family, none of them wasimportant. They could not harm him,  
  
nothing more than sting him. Besides, hewasn't sent to kill them in  
  
the first place.   
  
He was after the children. At first, Saurat didn't understand why his  
  
new lord wanted them dead. He thought his lord overestimated  
  
them. But the boy was asgood as dead, and now he walks. The  
  
small girl changed into an elemental, and an   
  
elemental could hurt him. The earth elemental by herself was not  
  
much of a threat, since it was still young and lacking in power, but  
  
when she is hit, shegets back up, and when she hits him, flesh  
  
under the scales bruise. And otherslike her were coming.   
  
She must be taken down. Now.   
  
Ah! Cassie cried as she jumped back. The dragon snapped at  
  
her, and only herdesperate dodge saved her from a world of hurt.  
  
She had made sure the otherswere safe by creating the wall, but  
  
now she has to take care of herself.   
  
Her stone hand slapped down on the muddy ground, feeling it mold  
  
itself to her will. She willed it to come, so it did. A column of  
  
muddy earth shot up from the ground, hardening just before it  
  
connected with the dragon's jaw. The dragonsnapped its head back,  
  
avoiding the brunt of the blow. Still, it screamed inpain  
  
asmud-turned-rock glanced off it's chin.   
  
Its snake-like head coiled around the column of earth. It bit at  
  
Cassie again.   
  
Cassie tried to dodge again, but she had to release the earth first.  
  
Besides, earth elementals were never known for their quickness.   
  
The dragon's jaws snapped shut over her leg, and suddenly Cassie  
  
found herself being jerked into the air. Saurat shook her viciously.   
  
AHHHHHH!!! Cassie screamed. Though she wasn't in pain, she  
  
knew what was happening, and her human mind reacted to the  
  
horrible thought of being torn topeices.   
  
Cassie brought her body up, then hammered on the side of the  
  
dragon's head with a two-handed fist. Because of the shaking, she  
  
only struck a glacing blow, but she could feel the muscles cave in  
  
where she made contact.   
  
"Screeeeeeeeeeeee!!!" Saurat screamed in pain, releasing Cassie.  
  
Cassie's severed leg bounced off when she hit the ground, but the  
  
welcome earth formedanother and attached itself to her, reforming  
  
the leg. Looking up, Cassie sawthe damage she did to the dragon.  
  
She had struck its cheek. The cheek muscleground into its open  
  
mouth, and its own teeth cut into it's face, lacerating the tissue. The  
  
side of its face beganto swell.   
  
Cassie felt bad. She really did, but lives were at stake, including  
  
her own and Jake's. She wasn't going to back down. She reached  
  
back down into the earth.   
  
The dragon struck again, but not with his head. A clawed hand  
  
swiped at Cassie, breaking her hold with the earth and sending her  
  
flying into an evacuatedbuilding. Before she could recover, Saurat  
  
struck again, slamming her into theground. Stunned, Cassie  
  
couldn't move when Saurat grabbed her with both handsand lifted  
  
her off the ground. It pulled her in two directions at once,  
  
andCassie could feel herself straining to stay together. Just because  
  
the elementaldidn't feel pain doesn't mean that it couldn't die.   
  
Cassie was scared. She couldn't reach the earth. She didn't have any  
  
leverage. Couldn't save herself.   
  
Saurat suddenly paused, a questioning look in his eyes. Cassie  
  
could feel the tension ease as the dragon whipped its head around  
  
to look behind him.   
  
Jake was on its back. Jake had climbed over the wall and onto the  
  
dragon. Saurat was so focused on Cassie, he didn't notice the warg  
  
clawing up his body. Jakewas now between its shoulder-blades,  
  
between the two huge wings. Stopping, Jake reached down with his  
  
clawed hands and began to peel individual scales off.   
  
Saurat screamed. Jake was hurting him! Instead of dropping  
  
Cassie, Saurat reared back, trying to dislodge the warg. Jake held  
  
on, his claws digging into theexposed bit of back muscle and into  
  
cracks in the other black scales.   
  
Frustrated, Saurat threw Cassie as far as he could. His head snaked  
  
back and he looked directly at Jake with a cold hatred. Hissing  
  
menacingly, Saurat shot hishead forward as fast as a striking snake.  
  
He snapped...   
  
On nothing but air! Jake saw it coming, and with reflexes akin to a  
  
tiger's, dodged out of the way without falling off the dragon's back.  
  
Growling, Jakeleaped at Saurat's face, claws extended and teeth  
  
bared.   
  
Jake's jaws snapped shut on Saurat's snout, bitting in so deep he  
  
struck bone.   
  
"Screeeaaaeaaeeeaaaah!!!" the renegade dragon roared, shaking its  
  
head violently, trying to dislodge the warg. But Jake wasn't about  
  
to let go.   
  
Saurat reached up with one hand and grabbed Jake around the  
  
torso. Digging his foot-long claws into Jake, Saurat jerked at him,  
  
trying to either tear him looseor tear him in half.   
  
Still, Jake held on. He was in pain, with dragon claws tearing  
  
muscles and bones, and with dragon strength jerking him, but the  
  
werewolf mind didn't careabout the pain. He healed, so torn tissues  
  
healed immediately, and he never feltlightheaded from loss of  
  
blood, since blood replentished itself faster than itwas lost. Nothing  
  
short of magic could kill a werewolf. And he needed to delaythe  
  
dragon, keep it distracted, until Marco and Cassie could join him.  
  
So Jakeheld on.   
  
In the end, it wasn't Jake who gave in. Realizing that the warg was  
  
delaying him, Saurat used all of his strength to tear Jake off. A  
  
large chunk of his own flesh, clamped in Jake's jaws, tore off with  
  
him. Screaming in blind rage,Saurat threw Jake to the ground with  
  
all of his fury. Jake bounced on the groundhard, the crushed bones  
  
and shattered organs mended so fast it was like he wasnever hurt in  
  
the first place.   
  
The dragon breathed fire at Jake, but Jake scampered out of the  
  
way, totally untouched. Jake could feel the earth rolling behind  
  
him, and when he lookedbehind him he saw Cassie riding a wave  
  
of earth. Behind the dragon, a hugewinged shadow rose over the  
  
wall, holding a human figure. Marco was coming, andhe was  
  
bringing Rachel with him.   
  
'Good,' Jake thought, 'we are all he--.' Suddenly, he realized what  
  
was wrong.   
  
Saurat breathed fire at Jake again, interupting his thoughts.   
  
It saw Cassie coming. It looked behind itself and saw a baalrog, a  
  
huge demon of sorts, setting a human girl down on the ground. The  
  
baalrog was red and black,humanoid, with fangs in its mouth and  
  
ram-horns on its forehead and hugeleathery wings extending from  
  
shoulderblades. A whip of fire appeared in itshand, and it flew at  
  
the dragon, leaving the girl.   
  
He was surrounded. The human children had surrounded him and  
  
not one of them was dead. That knowledge only made him angrier.   
  
But while Saurat was sizing up the situation, Jake was telling the  
  
others his plan, making sure the dragon didn't hear.   
  
Marco, set her down and get some altitude. Stay in the air so it  
  
will not have any reason to look down. Cassie, keep your distance,  
  
always be ahead of it, but watch for Rachel. None of us draw  
  
attention to her. We have to lead it out ofthe city, so no one get  
  
directly behind it. Rachel, don't go yet. Wait.   
  
The dragon, sure it could kill at least one of the shapeshifters but  
  
afraid that they will escape, attacked.   
  
* * * * *   
  
"Father, Lecrian told me that they need mine and Crimber's help."  
  
Herlim begged King Themis.   
  
Themis stopped mending the wounded soldier's wounds and  
  
looked up at his sons. Herlim was unarmed and scared, but he  
  
looked as if he knew he needed to go.Crimber clumsily held a  
  
spear and looked as if he had no idea what Herlim wastalking  
  
about.   
  
"If we don't go, everything will go ... wrong."   
  
Themis weighed Herlim's words carefully. He knew very well how  
  
hot-headed and reckless the boy was, but he knew that his son  
  
wouldn't lie to him. If Herlimsaid that Lecrian said he must go,  
  
than he must go. Still, nothing in the futureis certain, so something  
  
could still go wrong...   
  
With a wave of his hand, Themis made Herlim and Crimber  
  
vanished. He turned wearily back to his many dying soldiers,  
  
vainly wishing that he could replacelost blood as well as close  
  
injuries. He cast one more spell to watch over hisboys. Then he  
  
thought of the Dragon King...   
  
Herlim and Crimber appeared on the other side of the wall. They  
  
didn't like the sight that greeted them.   
  
The giant dragon roared in rage and charged the warg that was  
  
Jake. Jake easily dodged and ran towards the dragon's foot. The  
  
young elemental called Cassiestayed back, but slapped the ground,  
  
causing a pit to appear under the dragon,making it stumble. Marco,  
  
the baalrog, flew in the air, cracking his fire whipat the dragon's  
  
mouth, trying to entangle it. Rachel, her dress torn at theknees so  
  
she could move more freely, crept unnoticed towards the dragon's  
  
back.   
  
But the dragon was fighting back. It pivotted so fast it was almost a  
  
blur, hitting Cassie and Jake at once with its incredibly long tail. It  
  
coiled itsneck like a snake and struck at Marco. The only thing that  
  
saved Marco was thesimple fact that he was bigger than Cassie, but  
  
Marco still cried in pain as thedragon bit into him and slammed  
  
him down.   
  
"Do you have any idea why the Animorphs call wargs  
  
'werewolves?'" Herlim asked, his voice trembling.   
  
"What does that have to do with this?" Crimber asked back,  
  
puzzled at Herlim's unusual behavior.   
  
"Never mind." Then Herlim couldn't even pretend to joke anymore.  
  
"Can you thrown that far?" he said, pointing at the spear.   
  
"How far?"   
  
Herlim pointed at the dragon. "Can you hit Saurat's eye?"   
  
Crimber's eyes grew wide. "You want me to hit *that?!*"   
  
"That's what I just said. Well, can you?"   
  
Crimber looked scared and doubtful. "Well, not naturally..."   
  
"With your linking power?" Herlim asked desperately.   
  
"Maybe. I've never tried to link with something that I hadn't  
  
touched before."   
  
"Good enough." Then he looked back at the battle. Trembling,  
  
keeping a close eye on Rachel, Herlim crept forward, with Crimber  
  
following behind. Then Crimberremembered something.   
  
"Saurat? Where did you hear that?"   
  
The battle continued, moving farther and farther away from the  
  
city. Marco was hurt, but still flying. Cassie used her earth powers  
  
to attack the dragon. Jakestill clung to Saurat, biting and peeling  
  
scales off. Saurat still thrashedaround, failing to dislodge Jake, but  
  
avoiding Cassie's attacks, and swiping atMarco. Rachel suddenly  
  
broke into a run, heading for an ankle.   
  
The princes ran after her. "That's the name Lecrian gave me, now  
  
listen. Saurat is going to ..."   
  
Rachel touched the dragon. In the instant that she touched him,  
  
Saurat saw. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw. Roaring in  
  
triumph, Saurat spun around andlundged at her.   
  
The earth rode up between him and Rachel, and the dragon  
  
slammed face first into the raised turf. Rachel ran, sprinting for all  
  
that she was worth back towardsthe city.   
  
MARCO!! Jake screamed, GET HER OUT OF HERE!!!   
  
Saurat didn't hear him, but he did see Marco, hundreds of yards up,  
  
diving at Rachel. Ignoring the warg clawing up his neck, Saurat  
  
spread his vast wings andflew. He intercepted Marco and snapped  
  
at him. Marco dodged and shot past him,heading straight towards  
  
Rachel.   
  
Grinning wickedly, Saurat took a deep breath, opened his mouth  
  
wide, and breathed out.   
  
NO! Jake yelled, clawing for the dragon's face but not quite  
  
reaching it.   
  
Fire shot from the black dragon's throat like a bolt, missing Marco,  
  
and heading straight for Rachel.   
  
Time seemed to crawl. Both princes stopped and stared. Marco's  
  
eyes grew wide as he saw that he was too late.   
  
Fire engulfed her. She disappeared in the flames.   
  
NOOOO!! Jake cried in despair, finally reaching the dragon's  
  
eyes.   
  
RACHEL!! Cassie screamed. RACHEL, NO!!   
  
Crimber stared in horror. Is this what Lecrian saw? Did he know?   
  
Suddenly, Rachel ran out of the flames. Fire clung to her, but it  
  
dissipitated, leaving no trace. Not a hair was singed, not a speck of  
  
black on her dress. Itwas as if the flames never touched her.   
  
Crimber looked at his brother. His furrowed brows and tight jaw  
  
gave the secret away.   
  
"You saved her!" he cried in relief. Herlim shook his head, then  
  
held his head tenderly, as if he had a headache.   
  
"Never realized," he said shakily, "how hard that would be. She's  
  
not safe yet. I can't do that again." Then Crimber understood. He  
  
looked up at the dragon and got his spear ready.   
  
Marco had reached Rachel and scooped her up. He was flying as  
  
fast as he could towards the city, but Saurat was closing in. Jake  
  
had bitten the dragon's faceagain, but the dragon had torn him off,  
  
having set his sights on Marco andRachel. The two flyers were  
  
flying closer towards Crimber.   
  
Crimber cocked his arm and looked straight at the eye of the  
  
dragon. He reached deep inside himself for a rarely used power he  
  
thought was useless in battle. He imagined a line between the tip of  
  
the spear and the back of the huge, glowingeye, and threw with all  
  
the might in his skinny body.   
  
The spear flew. It looked as if it was going to miss.   
  
Its path curved, and it buried itself deep into the dragon's eye.   
  
"SSSSSSSRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH" Saurat's scream shattered the air and rocked Crimber's bones.  
  
Saurat crashed, forgetting about his prey. It clawed athis eye,  
  
breaking the spear, but it will never see in that eye again.   
  
"Father," Crimber plead, knowing that his Father heard him.  
  
"We've done all that we can. Get us out of here." And the King,  
  
hearing his son, teleported them back home.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Marco blew through the empty streets, heading towards the other  
  
edge of the city. Once there, he dropped Rachel off.   
  
This will be your greatest thrill yet, Xena. Marco joked. You,  
  
the biggest, baddest thunder lizard of them all. Eat your heart out,  
  
T-Rex. Rachel, thedragon, is coming through.   
  
"Get out of here, Marco" Rachel said, pretending to be angry, but  
  
with an insane glint in her eye. Then she laughed. "Let's do it!"   
  
Don't forget to wash your hand before you eat, though. Marco  
  
paternally pattedher shoulder, then flew away.   
  
"Yuck." Rachel looked around once to make sure that no one was  
  
around. The King's magical light did not reach this side of the city,  
  
so everything wasquite dark. 'Maybe that means no one will see  
  
me' she hoped. She stripped offher dress, and began to morph.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Jake was getting tired. Cassie was hurt. Marco was tired and hurt.   
  
The dragon was not.   
  
The dragon was hurt, no doubt. It had pieces of its face missing,  
  
half of Crimber's spear still stuck in its eye, and it had a few  
  
bruises from Cassieand Marco. But it wasn't tiring. In fact, it was  
  
almost as if it was gettingstronger as the battle continued, as if  
  
fueled by it's rage and frustration.Neither Jake or Cassie had a  
  
more capable morph, but Marco was in huge trouble.He was hurt,  
  
and hurt badly. And none of them could fight forever against the  
  
dragon.   
  
It has been almost a minute since Marco dropped Rachel off on the  
  
other side of the city. Jake really wanted her to hurry up.   
  
Marco, get out of here. Demorph." Jake yelled at his failing best  
  
friend.   
  
The dragon bit at Jake. This time, Jake didn't succeed at dodging.   
  
Cassie grabbed the dragon's leg and pulled, yanking it off-balance.  
  
The dragon didn't let Jake go, but used him like a bludgeon and  
  
snapped Jake at her, makingher release her grip.   
  
Marco tried to fly away, but the dragon saw him. Snatching Jake  
  
out of its mouth, it threw him at Marco, who just barely managed  
  
to catch the flyingwerewolf. At about the same time, the dragon  
  
flew at Marco. Before Marco couldreact, it grabbed him with both  
  
hands and slammed him into the ground. Marcolost consciousness  
  
and relaxed his grip on Jake.   
  
Jake stood over Marco protectively, growling threats at the  
  
triumphant dragon and knowing that he cannot save him. The  
  
dragon stood before Jake, and the sky shook with quieted  
  
lightening. Grinning wickedly, showing its sword-like teethin the  
  
last of the pale blue light, the one-eyed dragon paused a moment,  
  
andlunged.   
  
Look out! Cassie yelled as she threw herself between the dragon  
  
and her friends, coming in on its blind side. The dragon bit down  
  
on hard rock. Teeththat was not meant to eat stone broke, and the  
  
dragon recoiled in shock. Itshook its head, saw teeth fall, and  
  
glared down on Cassie.   
  
Marco! she yelled at him. Wake up! You've got to wake up!   
  
Fast as lightning, the dragon lashed out at Cassie, knocking her far,  
  
far away. Just as quickly, Jake leaped at the dragon's hand as it  
  
blurred by. Though hewas tired, he caught onto it, and before the  
  
dragon could shake him loose, he bit down in the wrist. He could  
  
feel the half of the wrist bones break as hecrushed them.   
  
The dragon screamed, then whipped Jake off. Jake took a bit of  
  
meat with him as he flew. As he flew, he thought he could hear  
  
something beating the air. Wings.   
  
Finally, Saurat could focus on the baalrog, who was starting to stir.  
  
If just one of the children die, his mission would be accomplished.   
  
Too late, he heard the sound of wings beating the air.   
  
Something huge slammed into him. Something huge, black, and  
  
scaly sent him rolling across the field. When he finally stopped to  
  
face his new challenger, hefroze.   
  
Saurat was looking at himself. The new dragon was as big, strong,  
  
and black as he was, but with none of the injuries. It was not  
  
blinded, it was not missingchunks of flesh, and its wrist was not  
  
broken.   
  
Hey, I'm your size, a female voice echoed in his mind. Let's  
  
wrestle. Andthe impossibility laughed and charged.   
  
Faster than the eye could follow, they fought. Rachel tackled  
  
Saurat to the ground. Saurat twisted, freeing himself from her grip.  
  
He wrapped his tailaround her neck and pulled back. She fell, but  
  
grabbed the tail and painfullyyanked at it. Both dragons jumped up  
  
to their feet and circled each other beforecrashing together again. In  
  
a blur of fury, the two dragons battled. Each bit atnecks and  
  
shoulders, slashed with claws, entangled with tails, and  
  
screamedtheir full-throated challenges. Both bled, neither gaining a  
  
clear upper-up.Rachel had health. Saurat had experience.   
  
Suddenly, Rachel blew fire at Saurat's face. Though the fire didn't  
  
hurt him, Saurat was blinded by the flames and smoke for just a  
  
moment. In that moment,Rachel leaped over his blind shoulder.  
  
With two healthy, clawed hands, she toreSaurat's wing.   
  
Saurat screamed. Painfully, Saurat shoved Rachel away using his  
  
one good hand.   
  
Give up? Rachel challenged, seeing just how pain-wracked her  
  
enemy was.   
  
Saurat growled, then attacked her again.   
  
I'll take that as a 'no.'"   
  
"Stop!" a commanding voice rang in the darkness.   
  
Suddenly, King Themis appeared. Saurat saw him and stopped his  
  
attack. Rachel had the feeling that she shouldn't press the fight  
  
until the King said what he had to say. Jake slunk up beside the  
  
King, Cassie lumbered to his other side,and Marco flew overhead.   
  
"Saurat," King Themis addressed him "Give up. Your brothers  
  
come for you." And with that he pointed toward the red moon  
  
hanging beneath the haltedthunderclouds. Unmistakably, a vast  
  
number of winged silhouettes flew, nearlyblocking out the moon's  
  
light. Saurat began to tremble.   
  
He suddenly leaped up and flapped his wings, trying to fly, but he  
  
only had one good wing. He crashed back down to earth.   
  
Rachel grabbed him and pushed him down to the ground, pinning  
  
him. Saurat struggled, but Rachel didn't loose her grip.   
  
King Themis approached the struggling dragon until he was  
  
standing dangerously close.   
  
You better stand back, Themis, Rachel told him.   
  
Themis smiled at Rachel, touched by her concern and not the least  
  
offended by her lack of formality. He knew she came from a place  
  
where there is no royalty.   
  
"He won't hurt me," he said. "He can't."   
  
Then, King Themis stood only a few short feet from Saurat's  
  
battered face. Saurat glared at King Themis with unmistakable,  
  
complete, and total hatred, buthe didn't attack.   
  
"You cannot escape, Saurat. Your brothers will be here soon. If  
  
you cooperate, they may not be as harsh with you. So tell me,"  
  
King Themis asked, his voicelowering. "Who sent you? And  
  
why?"   
  
For a few seconds, Saurat glared silently at the King. Then his head  
  
slumped against the ground in defeat, and for the first time, Saurat  
  
spoke.   
  
"What's the use?" Saurat asked himself, the fire finally burning out  
  
of him. He looked at the King. "Zilos sent me."   
  
Themis nodded. "I'm impressed. I never realized he could  
  
summon..."   
  
"He didn't summon me!" Saurat yelled, rebelious hatred burning in  
  
his eyes again. Then he calmed down. "I went to him on my own,  
  
of my own free will. Noone can summon me, human."   
  
"I see," Themis replied, seeing no need in making the dragon clam  
  
up. "But why did you come? What did you hope to gain by this?"   
  
Saurat looked past the King and looked directly at the Animorphs.  
  
"Them." He said simply. "We were here to kill them. At least one."   
  
King Themis didn't like the sound of that. "We?"   
  
But then, the dragons came. They almost took Rachel, but they saw  
  
Saurat and King Themis explained what happened. The dragons,  
  
without a word, picked Sauratup and carried him away.   
  
As Saurat was taken away, Jake remembered something.   
  
Guys, I'm worried. he said to everyone. Tobias and Ax didn't  
  
show. Jake began, going straight to business. They should have  
  
showed up at about the same time as Ariana did.   
  
You think something may have happened to them? Rachel  
  
asked. Jake nodded.   
  
"I'll take you back to the castle." And with that, Themis teleported  
  
everyone to just outside the castle. People were working on  
  
cleaning up the place, havingboarded up the broken wall.   
  
Themis bent down to the muddy ground. "Open." he commanded.   
  
Suddenly, the ground opened up beneath them, revealing several  
  
rooms. Each one was just big enough for them, even one deep  
  
enough for Rachel, and each one had their morphing clothing on a  
  
dresser.   
  
"Hurry," he gestured to the strange rooms, "This is taxing me."  
  
Soon, all four were underground and changed. Themis was  
  
exhausted.   
  
"I could teleport you there, but I might accidently miss and send  
  
you into a wall. Do you know how to reach Tobias' and Ax's  
  
room?" Jake nodded grimly. Then,leading his four friends, he ran  
  
into the ballroom.   
  
Looking up gloomily at the sky, Themis released the clouds,  
  
Immediately, the rain began to fall in sheets once more. The light  
  
went out, replaced bylightning. This time, Themis didn't deny the  
  
thunder its voice.   
  
Soon, the remaining Animorphs reached Tobias' and Ax's room. It  
  
was boarded up. Marco morphed just enough of the gorilla to tear  
  
the door from its hinges.   
  
Rachel was the first inside. She screamed in anger and despair.   
  
The room looked like a tornado with blades hit it. A table was  
  
thrown. The furniture and walls were had long slashes in them. The  
  
window was broken.   
  
Ax was no where to be found.   
  
Tobias, pale, unmoving, and in human form, layed in a pool of his  
  
own blood. 


	3. Part 3

That night, Lecrian couldn't wake up...   
  
Marco walked into a room and absentmindedly turned on the light.  
  
He gently closed the door behind him, walked to his bed, got on his  
  
knees, and scrumidgedaround through the mess to find his night  
  
clothes.   
  
Behind Marco's back, the closet door silently opened. A boy stood  
  
there, holding a club of some kind. He had blonde hair, brown  
  
eyes, and an expression of a cocky, unpredictable thief.   
  
The boy quietly snuck behind Marco, who finally found his shirt.  
  
The boy lifted the club...   
  
Wap!   
  
Marco fell hard. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.   
  
The wickedly grinning boy bent down and touched Marco. "Don't  
  
you feel lucky you're not an animal right now." Lecrian recognized  
  
his voice, but he cannotremember from where.   
  
"It's too bad, though," the boy continued, pulling a large grey ring  
  
from somewhere. "If it wasn't for the fact that a certain Xena wants  
  
my head, Iwould've given you the chance to defend yourself." The  
  
boy chuckled, enjoying aprivate joke. He tore sticky strips from the  
  
grey ring and harshly wrappedMarco's hands and legs together,  
  
then stuck a peice over Marco's mouth.   
  
The boy dragged Marco to the closet, but as he did so, he began to  
  
change. He shrunk, narrowed, and darkened, and other more subtil  
  
but significant changeshappened.   
  
Marco woke just before the closet door shut. He looked up  
  
groggily to see himself staring down triumphantly on him. The  
  
door closed, leaving nothing butdarkness.   
  
Lecrian's mind's eye adjusted to the dark, but he no longer saw the  
  
inside of a closet with Marco trapped inside. He was underground,  
  
in a tunnel. He heard alot of commotion to his right, and when he  
  
looked, he saw a bird. Then, beforeLecrian realized it, his mind  
  
touched the bird's.   
  
Tobias looked down. He was in a tunnel, yes, but he was in a  
  
hidden crevice up the side of it, near the ceiling. Below him,  
  
looking for him, was his enemies.People who were no longer really  
  
people and two kinds of monsters, and oneother. The people  
  
carried weapons. One kind of monster was tall with blades allover.  
  
The other monster looked like a gigantic centipede, only with a  
  
huge,tooth-ringed mouth and red globs of jelly for eyes. The one  
  
other enemy, theworst, was not there at the moment.   
  
Tobias was scared. He has been in morph for so long, his time  
  
must almost be up. He had to demorph.   
  
But he can't. There were so many, they would see him. He was just  
  
lucky to have found the small crevice, and even luckier that they  
  
havn't seen him when he hidthere. If he moved now, when they  
  
were on full alert, they would see him andcatch him.   
  
What if he could just get out?   
  
No. The only ways out were through doors, and birds can't open  
  
doors, and they were sure to be guarded.   
  
What if he did somehow find a place and demorphed? Even if they  
  
did see him, what if he found a place too high up for them to  
  
reach?   
  
But that wouldn't work either. Even if they couldn't catch him, they  
  
would still see him and know that he is human. Then it wouldn't  
  
matter if he was caught or not, because the results would be the  
  
same. They would realize that if he washuman, the others were  
  
human, too. That would be the end of his friends.   
  
The others. They were the only people who ever really seemed to  
  
care for him. Unlike the others, Tobias had nothing to loose in the  
  
war. Nothing but them. Andhe didn't want to loose them.   
  
So Tobias stayed were he was and did nothing. Much too late, his  
  
enemies figured that he had escaped and stopped looking for him.  
  
The Human-Controllers begantoleave, opening the doors. Unseen,  
  
Tobias blew through those doors to freedom.   
  
Tobias found a meadow. He landed and focused, trying to hope.  
  
Tobias focused, waiting.   
  
Nothing. Nothing happened.   
  
The dream ended. At least the images faded into black, but Tobias'  
  
emotions stayed.   
  
Unable now to cry, Tobias' soul mourned silently.   
  
None of the Animorphs could sleep very easily. Rachel didn't sleep  
  
at all. Shesat by Tobias' bed, watching him closely. He laid  
  
comatose on his bed, hisbloodless face as pale as a ghost. Tobias  
  
had lost a lot of blood, so much so that his pulse was nearly  
  
impossible to detect, so Rachel watched his breath. Ifhe ever  
  
stopped breathing, she'd yell for Themis.   
  
'Themis,' Rachel thought bitterly. He could've stopped the dragon.  
  
He could'vesaved Tobias. He had the power to do it. Jake had  
  
explained that King Themiscouldn't, just like the Chee couldn't  
  
fight, but Rachel didn't feel any better.   
  
She put her hand in front of Tobias' mouth and nose, feeling for a  
  
breath. Itwas still there, but as weak and uneven as before.   
  
Rachel felt helpless. She didn't like the feeling. She has always  
  
been able tohelp before. When her friends were afraid, her apparent  
  
fearlessness rubbed offon them. Her bravery and disregard for her  
  
own safety had saved them severaltimes before. And when Tobias  
  
needed her most, when he lost himself to the hawk, she was there,  
  
giving him hope and assuring him that he will be alright.But her  
  
inner strength couldn't help him, now.   
  
She looked around the room she and Tobias were in. A clean fire  
  
burned endlessly in a fireplace across the room. A couch was just  
  
beyond the bed, and Queen Marah laid asleep on it, ready to give  
  
help at a moment's notice. BesideRachel stood a dresser. A single  
  
candle burned on it.   
  
Rachel reached out and opened the top drawer. She reached in and  
  
pulled out a single, lead chunk.   
  
A bullet. King Themis used his magic to pull the bullet out of  
  
Tobias' chest before sealing it up. Disgusted, Rachel threw it back  
  
in and shut the drawer.   
  
She checked on Tobias again. She absolutely hated being useless.  
  
If only she could reach Tobias, give him some of her courage.   
  
Could she? Rachel remembered hearing somewhere that people in  
  
comas can sometimes hear what people say around them.   
  
She reached out and took Tobias' limp hand in her own.   
  
"You still with me, Tobias?" she asked tenderly. "I certainly hope  
  
so. I'mwilling to bet that you would like to know what happened  
  
when we found you."She paused, not sure if she should talk to him  
  
about it. It may distress himmore.   
  
She remembered what happened. She remembered very well.  
  
Cassie immediately stopped the bleeding in his chest and stopped  
  
up an unnoticed wound on his arm.Marco and Jake got Themis,  
  
who pulled the bullet out and sealed up both the holein Tobias'  
  
chest and the cut on his arm. Everyone tried to rouse Tobias, wake  
  
him so he could demorph, but he never woke up. No one could  
  
figure out whathappened to Ax. He disappeared without a trace.  
  
Jake morphed wolf to find   
  
out who did this to Tobias and who may have been involved with  
  
Ax's disappearance.   
  
There was only one other scent other than Tobias', Ax's, and two  
  
birds. Eran's.   
  
Eran shot Tobias. He was found in his room, claiming ignorance.  
  
Themis setguards around him, to prevent any escape.   
  
Then everyone went to bed to get what few hours sleep they could.  
  
She couldn't,though. Not with Tobias just laying there in the bed  
  
on the verge of death.   
  
"The man who shot you won't get away, Tobias. And we'll find Ax.  
  
And we'llhelp you get better. You won't die." She gently brushed  
  
his uncontrollablehair away from of his face. Leaning forward,  
  
Rachel tenderly kissed his cold forehead.   
  
"You'll be alright, Tobias," she said, putting every ounce of faith in  
  
those few words. "I promise."   
  
The response was so small, Rachel wasn't sure that she didn't  
  
imagine it. Butshe liked to think that he did hear her, and that he  
  
did answer. She thoughtshe felt Tobias squeeze her hand, weak but  
  
still there.   
  
And so Rachel kept her tireless vigil, faithfully watching out for  
  
Tobias as she had so many times before. Tobias did stop breathing  
  
once, but Marah was there. She gave Tobias strenght, then took  
  
Rachel's place, telling her to go to sleep.   
  
Eran's pre-trial was held just an hour later, when the sun was just  
  
beginning to rise. In the warroom, Themis, Lecrian, and Ariana  
  
stood alone with Eran.   
  
"But I wasn't there," Eran protested. "I don't even know what this is  
  
all about." He was in his hunting cloths, dirt smudged on his hands.  
  
He tenderlyheld his head.   
  
Eyes soft with sympathy, Themis asked, "Could you tell me about  
  
last night? About yesterday?" Themis wore plain clothes,  
  
demonstrating that this was not an official trial. He kept a close eye  
  
on his son. Lecrian seemed strong, but Themis knew that he was  
  
still recovering from the dragon's attack.   
  
"Well, you know about the hunt. After the hunt, I talked with  
  
Lecrian, then went to my room. Something hit my head," he  
  
grimaced, "and the next thing I know, I'm locked in my closet. It  
  
took me quite a while to get free, but when Idid, I'm placed under  
  
arrest."   
  
One of Lecrian's eyebrows shot up questioningly. "You never went  
  
to the celebration?"   
  
"Of course not!" Eran exploded. "I just told you that. So what is  
  
going on, here?"   
  
Lecrian glanced sideways at his sister, sitting on a chair. She  
  
looked as ifshe was about to break down. "Last night, someone  
  
poisoned Marco. We believethat same someone nearly killed  
  
Tobias and is somehow involved in for Ax's   
  
disappearance."   
  
"What?!?" Eran said, looking stunned at the news. "But who?"   
  
Lecrian sighed heavily. He didn't like to say it, especially since  
  
Eran was his best friend, but Eran had to know. "I hate to say this,  
  
but it looks as if you did it."   
  
Eran's eyes widened. "You're kidding."   
  
Lecrian tried to smile. "You know I don't kid." Then he looked  
  
depressed again. "Are you sure you weren't at the party."   
  
"I swear on my honor that I wasn't. But why do you ask?"   
  
"Because you danced with me," Ariana said weakly, tears standing  
  
in her eyes. "You danced with me. If it wasn't you, it was someone  
  
who looked and soundedand smelled exactly like you. That same  
  
person I danced with? He gave Marco a   
  
poisoned cup of punch. His scent was where Tobias was found  
  
nearly killed and Aximili found missing." Her voice cracked. She  
  
sniffed and blinked back her tears, and in a whisper no one was  
  
supposed to hear, she said "I thought youwere acting differently,  
  
but I had no idea..."   
  
All shock left Eran's face. Tenderly, he knelt next to Ariana and  
  
hugged her. She hugged him back, tears streaming down her face.   
  
Lecrian stood by his father. To him he said "Is it possible that Eran  
  
was possessed?"   
  
Themis shook his head. "I felt something like that somewhere in  
  
the castle justbefore Saurat dragon attacked, but it wasn't from  
  
Eran. If Eran was possessed,he would have been so throughout the  
  
whole dance, not just the very end."   
  
"How about a shapeshifter? A changeling?"   
  
"No, not if Jake's report is accurate. Changelings keep their own  
  
scent, no matter what form they are in."   
  
For a while, no one said anything. Ariana regained her composure,  
  
then saidsomething she was sure would get her into trouble.   
  
"Is it possible that Jake lied?"   
  
To her surprize, her father didn't get mad. "It is possible," he said,  
  
"but I seriously doubt it. He was deceived, more likely."   
  
At first Ariana stared at her father dumbly. Then her anger flared.   
  
"Then WHY are you doing this?" she yelled, suddenly standing up.  
  
"Why are you accusing Eran of something he simply did not do?  
  
He's a knight. *Your* knight.   
  
His word is his life. You *know* he's innocent, so why are you  
  
putting him on trial, anyway?"   
  
"Because they don't know," Lecrian interjected gently.   
  
She fiercely turned on him. "So," she spat, "you're catering to them,  
  
now? Putinnocents on trial to pamper the imposters? And..."   
  
"And find a way to prove his innocence before they wake up."  
  
Lecrian interrupted calmly, cutting off her tirade. Ariana stood  
  
defiantly, but kept her silence.   
  
.For a short while, no one said anything. Then Eran spoke.   
  
"Oh, Ariana, why don't you trust your father and brother," he asked  
  
her, giving her a hug. "I know that they will do everything in their  
  
power to help me. I trust them totally, now that I know what this is  
  
all about."   
  
Ariana held him, and slowly her fears dissipitated.   
  
With the emotional storm gone, Lecrian went back to business.   
  
"Father, what evidence do we have that Eran may not be the one  
  
who betrayed the Animorphs?"   
  
"So far, nothing but Eran's testimony and word. Do you think that  
  
this will be enough?"   
  
Lecrian shook his head. "No. From what I've seen, they come from  
  
a place wherethey literally cannot trust anyone, not even their  
  
families. I don't think thateven Cassie will believe Eran's innocence  
  
based on his word alone. In fact--"   
  
Suddenly he stopped. His eyes went blank.   
  
"Lecrian?" Themis asked, concerned. The same thing happened to  
  
him just beforehe was injured in the battle the night before.   
  
Then Lecrian shook his head, coming to. "The Animorphs can  
  
help."   
  
"What?" Ariana asked.   
  
"Jake is coming."   
  
Just then, the door opened and a sleepy Jake walked in. Groggily  
  
and dressed inloose night clothing, he bid everyone "good  
  
morning." Once he saw Eran, though,his eyes hardened, and  
  
suddenly all fatigue disappeared. Glaring at Eran as he passed him,  
  
Jake approached King Themis.   
  
"Sorry to be so abrupt," Jake said in a low, silky voice. "But what  
  
is going onhere? He's supposed to be in custody until the trial starts  
  
at noon."   
  
King Themis decided to be straightforward. "We are trying to find  
  
a way to prove him innocent. I'm sorry, but I have known Eran for  
  
all of his life. He has always been loyal and honorable and totally  
  
trustworthy. I find it hard to believe that he would participate in a  
  
plot to destroy you and your friends. Iappologize, but are you sure  
  
you didn't make a mistake last night?"   
  
Jake laughed bitterly. "I see. Believe it or not, I understand  
  
perfectly.But, you see, I thought all about that, too. I looked hard  
  
for an alternative.Real hard. But his scent was the only one ...  
  
there?" Jake trailed off, as heremembered what happened. His  
  
barely contained rage lessened, and uncertainty creeped in a little.  
  
Jake looked again at Eran.   
  
"Your Majesty," Jake asked with no hint of anger. "Did Eran ever  
  
leave the castle since you've captured him? I mean, has he ever  
  
been out of the soldiers'sight since?"   
  
Themis was confused. "No. But, why?"   
  
Jake turned back to the king, suppressed urgency in his face.   
  
"I need to morph. Now."   
  
Themis didn't understood, but nodded anyway. Jake immediately  
  
tore off his outer clothing, revealing his skin tight morphing outfit.  
  
Ariana turned away, embarrassed.   
  
Then Jake began to change, starting with a wave of silvery grey fur  
  
flowing down his back. At first, Lecrian thought that Jake was  
  
going to warg again, but Jake didn't grow. In fact, Jake didn't  
  
change overall size at all. Instead, his face bulged out, and his  
  
mouth split wider, revealing sharp teeth. His earscrept up the sides  
  
of his head and became pointed. His fingers shortened, his nails  
  
grew and thickened, and his hands became paws. Lecrian could  
  
hear Jake'sspin streach as his tail srouted beneath him. Ariana  
  
groaned as she listened,still refusing to watch. His legs shortened  
  
and his arms lengthened. His kneesreversed direction with a  
  
sickening crunch, and Jake fell forward onto fourlegs, standing on  
  
what used to be his hands and toes. Soon, the morph wascomplete.  
  
It looked similar to the warg.   
  
"What do you call that?" Lecrian asked, intriqued.   
  
It's a wolf. It's related to Homer, but a lot more serious.   
  
"Homer?"   
  
Never mind.   
  
Jake trotted over to Eran. Frightened, Eran took an involuntary step  
  
backwards, but Jake still got close enough to take a good sniff.  
  
Jake looked up at Eran, and Eran had a nice, long look at the calm  
  
and cunning intelligence in thewolf's eyes.   
  
You didn't wash yesterday, did you?" It was more of a statement  
  
to himself than a question. Themis, I need to go check something  
  
out. If the others come, could you please tell them that I'll be back  
  
soon?   
  
"Yes," Themis said, more confused then before.   
  
Thank you, and Jake loped out of the door, scaring a servant  
  
carrying a tray.Ariana heard Jake's nails click on the stone floor as  
  
he ran away.   
  
Effortlessly, Jake bounded to the room where Tobias and Ax were  
  
attacked and searched the room again, but he didn't find anything  
  
significantly different.There was still Ax's, Tobias's, Eran's, and the  
  
puzzling two birds' scent, aswell as lingering traces of gunpowder,  
  
as well as other barely detectablesmells. Nothing has changed. He  
  
didn't miss anything the night before. Hefocused on the way the  
  
"other smells" and Eran's scnet intertwined, trying tosee if he got  
  
the same mental picture as before. He did.   
  
And that meant that maybe, just maybe, Eran was innocent. At  
  
least not provenguilty.   
  
On his swift way back to where Themis, Lecrian, Eran, and Ariana  
  
waited, he ran into Rachel, for once looking a little less than  
  
perfect.   
  
Good morning, he greeted her. She grunted her irritated  
  
greeting. He sloweddown to a slow trot so she could jog next to  
  
him. I thought you were supposedto be asleep.   
  
"As if," Rachel said grumpily. "As if I would actually sleep with  
  
Ax missing, Tobias nearly dead, and his would-be assassin being  
  
someone I had trusted. No chance in the world, Jake."   
  
Rachel, I'm going to Themis right now. I know you're not going to  
  
like this,but I think Eran is innocent.   
  
Rachel sneered skeptically. "Wasn't it you who said he was guilty  
  
in the first place?"   
  
Rachel, he said as they neared the room, Eran was at the party  
  
last night.   
  
"So?" she challenged as they entered the room.   
  
Look at him, Rachel. Jake urged. Just look at him.   
  
And Rachel did, with an eye more practiced for spotting dirt than  
  
Jake's. Moreclearly than Jake had, she saw the dirt and grime on  
  
Eran. But she was stillskeptical.   
  
"Yeah, he's dirty. Too dirty for a party, but couldn't he have done  
  
this afterthe dance? You know, when the dragon attacked?"   
  
I don't know. He could have, but the sweat on him is more than a  
  
day old.   
  
Ariana's eyes went wide. Her eyes grew wider as Jake continued.   
  
Don't you see? The Eran who went to the party had danced, drunk  
  
punch, wore cologne, and had faint traces of Ariana's perfume on  
  
him. That same Eran hadfaint traces of the powder he used to  
  
poison Marco about where his hands would   
  
be. And, of course, he used a gun. But this Eran never even got  
  
ready for theparty. He's not clean. His sweat, the dirt, the boar's  
  
blood, everything is still there. No hint of punch, or perfume, or  
  
gunpowder on him. And he hasnever been near Tobias's room. He's  
  
innocent.   
  
The room was silent. The only one who didn't look shocked,  
  
stunned, or surprized was Lecrian. He looked mildly pleased.   
  
"Jake," Rachel said as he began to demorph. "If Eran didn't do it,  
  
then who did?"   
  
His voice was heavy with weariness. I don't know, Rachel. I  
  
reallydon't know.   
  
After a short silence, Rachel continued. "Then the one who shot  
  
Tobias got away, huh."   
  
I guess so. Now more human than wolf, Jake gathered up his  
  
night clothes andbegan to put them on as he demorphed.   
  
"So, what do we do?" Rachel asked.   
  
"I don't know. We sleep, I guess. There's nothing we can do now,  
  
Rachel," hesaid, catching Rachel's look. "And it won't help either  
  
Tobias or Ax any if weare too tired to think."   
  
It looked as if Rachel was about to argue, but she didn't. "Yeah,"  
  
she admitted. "You're right." And with that, she turned around and  
  
walked out thedoor.   
  
Jake appologized to Eran, said good bye, and left. All the hope they  
  
felt whenJake proved Eran innocent gave way to sadness. For the  
  
first time, Arianaunderstood the children. Their fear, their  
  
loneliness, how much they dependedon each other ... she  
  
understood.   
  
She almost cried for them. She didn't hate them, anymore.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Queen Marah sat beside Tobias, holding his hand so her strength  
  
could more easily flow into him. He was getting weaker,  
  
depending on her more and more.She knew that she couldn't keep  
  
it up for long.   
  
She looked down hopelessly on her daughter's rescuer's feverish  
  
face, knowing that sooner or later, her strength would be  
  
exhausted. She knows the cycle.She has lost many good soldiers  
  
and knoghts, before.   
  
Rachel came in, looking very depressed and utterly tired.   
  
"How is he?" she asked.   
  
Marah sighed. "How about if you get your rest, Rachel?" she  
  
suggested, not wanting to burden the girl further. But Rachel would  
  
have none of it.   
  
"Not until I know. So, is he getting better?"   
  
"No. He isn't. He's actually getting weaker by the minute, now. I'm  
  
sorry,"Marah said, not looking at Rachel as she approached her.  
  
"But I can't keep this up forever. I'll do everything I can, but sooner  
  
or later, I ... I won't haveany more strength to give. I am now  
  
constantly forcing his heart to beat andhis lungs to breathe. If I rest,  
  
even for a minute, I will loose him. And,sooner or later, I am going  
  
to have to rest."   
  
Tears shimmerred in Rachels eyes as tears flowed from Marah's.  
  
But Rachel refused to cry.   
  
"I'm not about to loose Tobias now," Rachel said stubbornly.  
  
Marah didn't answer, not wanting to fight with her.   
  
"How about my strength?" Rachel continued. "Can you use it to  
  
help him?"   
  
Marah almost said no, but stopped. She suddenly remembered  
  
what the old magisaid when he defined her power He said that she  
  
could transfer strength. Hedidn't say "give." He said "transfer."  
  
Move.   
  
"I'll try."   
  
"I'll try," Marah said. She reached out and touched Rachel's  
  
outstreached hand. Immediately, Marah felt stronger as Rachel's  
  
fatigued but unquiting strengthflowed into her. Rachel's eyes  
  
fluttered, and she began to sway.   
  
"Go to the couch," Queen Marah instructed.   
  
Rachel obediently staggered over to the soft couch and fell on it.  
  
She was asleep before her head hit the coushins.   
  
Marah turned back to Tobias and thought about what had just  
  
happened. Rachel had offered her a unique solution, one that just  
  
may save Tobias' life.   
  
For the first time since she first began to lend Tobias her strength,  
  
Queen Marah felt hope.   
  
* * * * *   
  
At noon, outside the castle walls ...   
  
"Herlim!" Crimber called over his shoulder. "Hey, Herlim! I think I  
  
found it!"   
  
"Found what?" Herlim called back, coming to his brother. Crimber  
  
was leaning over the steep moat bank, pointing down into the  
  
mirky water.   
  
"The thing that the metal plug was connected to," he said excitedly,  
  
looking back to the submerged thing. Herlim looked over his  
  
brother's shoulder, peeredthrough the mirk, and saw it, too. It was  
  
ten feet under, in dirty, grimmy,brackish water, which in turn was  
  
ten feet below them. The sides of the bankwere very steep.   
  
"Somebody needs to get it," he said in a carefully neutral tone. He  
  
had a mischievious look in his eyes.   
  
"Hah!" Crimber exclaimed, not noticing Herlim's emotionless tone.  
  
"This power of mine *is* useful. First with the dragon, and now to  
  
find this."   
  
"Yep," Herlim continued, straining to not give anything away.  
  
"You found it."   
  
Crimber recognized that tone, but he couldn't quite remember what  
  
it me--   
  
"AAAAAH!!!" he yelled as Herlim gave him a slight push from  
  
behind. He windmilled his arms, trying to keep his balance. Herlim  
  
gave one more slighttap, and Crimber fell ten feet to the water.   
  
PLOOSH!! The splash almost reached Herlim's gleaming eyes.   
  
Crimber disappeared from view, hit the bottom and accidently  
  
grabbed the metal stick. He surfaced, spit water from his mouth,  
  
and glared angerly at hisgrinning brother. Herlim's sides shook in  
  
silent laughter.   
  
"Very funny," Crimber said. "That was very, very funny."   
  
"Well," Herlim said weakly, covering his mouth now to hold his  
  
glee in. "One of us had to get it. Might as well ... be ..." He couldn't  
  
finish. He just burstout laughing. "Oh, it was PERFECT!  
  
Absolutely perfect! You should have seen your face."   
  
"Hysterical," Crimber said sarcastically. "I was going to call a  
  
servant to help me when you pushed me in."   
  
"What a good idea. Be right back," Herlim called, disappearing  
  
from Crimber's view.   
  
"Where are you going?"   
  
"To get a servant, of course."   
  
"YOU COME BACK HERE AND GET ME OUT!!!" Crimber  
  
yelled.   
  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING? I'M GETTING YOU A  
  
SERVANT!" Herlim yelled back gleefully.   
  
And so, Crimber floated in the smelly, brackish water of the moat,  
  
pouting grumpily.   
  
* * * * *   
  
"Sorry," a smelly, dirty, dripping wet Crimber said tightly, a look  
  
of embarassed anger plastered onto his still-wet face. "But this is  
  
all I found."He held out the still dripping weapon in his hand.  
  
Themis took it. "Can I gonow?"   
  
Themis nodded his head. Immediately, Crimber left after glaring  
  
one last time at the still smirking,  
  
trying-to-look-serious-and-innocent-and-failing-at-bothHerlim.  
  
Themis dismissed him, too, rubbing his temples as if he had a  
  
hugeheadache.   
  
The trial, if it could be called a trial, had begun, but because the  
  
defendant was the most trusted knight in the kingdom and fiance of  
  
the King's onlydaughter, there wasn't an audience. There were  
  
guards outside the doors, and acouple of scribes to record the  
  
following, but nothing more. Only Jake, Rachel,Cassie, Marco,  
  
Eran, Ariana, Lecrian and King Themis were there, though  
  
normallyQueen Marah, Crimber and Herlim would attend, too.   
  
For some strange reason, Lecrian was no longered bothered by the  
  
mid-awake visions, so Lecrian could almost be cheerful. Almost.   
  
Before Herlim and Crimber left to find the gun, Jake had told  
  
everyone about what had happened earlier that day. Only Marco  
  
wasn't totally convinced.   
  
"This is a world of magic Jake," he argued. "Anything could  
  
happen."   
  
That was when Jake decided to ask Herlim and Crimber to find the  
  
gun. And now they were gone, again.   
  
"It that it?" Marco said sarcastically to no one in particular as the  
  
brothers left the room. "Just a gun? Just a hand-held stick of  
  
dynamite capable ofblackening your face like they do to Daffy in  
  
Loony Toons? So tell me, Jake," hesaid, pointing to where Herlim  
  
and Crimber disappeared. "Exactly why did youwant Happy and  
  
Grumpy there to go scuba-diving in a fully equiped  
  
algae-filledmoat for a soggy gun when we already knew that it was  
  
a popper that shotBird-boy in the first place?"   
  
"Because," Jake said calmly, fingering the bullet in his hand "I  
  
think I was wrong last night."   
  
"What? Fearless Leader Jake thinks he screwed up? What is this  
  
world coming to?"   
  
"Marco," Jake said seriously. "Since when did Eran know how to  
  
use a gun?"   
  
Marco's mouth froze in mid-retort. "Oh."   
  
Jake approached Themis. "May I see that, your Majesty?" he asked,  
  
motioning for the gun.   
  
"Of course," he replied, gladly handing the wet gun over.   
  
Jake gave both the spent bullet and the gun to Marco.   
  
Marco seemed to have received an unspoken message, because he  
  
immediately loaded the bullet into the gun. Then he tossed it to the  
  
perplexed Eran, who caught it easily.   
  
"Hit that door," Marco challenged. "From where you are. With the  
  
gun."   
  
Then Cassie understood what was going on. Rachel didn't, but  
  
didn't say anything.   
  
Eran looked confusedly at the blunt hunk of heavy metal in his  
  
hand. He looked at Lecrian and Ariana for help, but they looked  
  
about as lost as he felt. He only knew of one way to hit the door  
  
from a distance with a blunt weapon.   
  
Eran drew back his arm, then swung it forward, throwing the  
  
unbalanced weapon with expertice. Just before the gun could dent  
  
the door, Themis reached out with his magic and stopped it,  
  
suspending it in mid-air.   
  
"Good catch." Cassie looked at the still skeptical Marco. "Now are  
  
you convinced? He doesn't know how a gun works."   
  
"What's going on?" Rachel asked, speaking for herself and the  
  
royal family.   
  
"You'll see," Jake answered simply.   
  
"He may just be a real good actor," Marco responded to Cassie. He  
  
walked calmly to the suspended weapon and pulled it out of  
  
Themis's hold. Silently, withouthesitation, he pulled back on the  
  
safety and pointed the weapon straight atEran.   
  
None of the royal family reacted, not even Eran.   
  
The same was not true for the the Animorphs.   
  
"What you you doing?!?" Cassie cried, alarm leaping to her eyes.   
  
"Marco! Don't!" Jake yelled as he realized what was happening.   
  
Rachel just ran at Marco.   
  
Marco pulled the trigger. There was a small click. Then a huge  
  
"Uph!" as Rachel tackled Marco hard. She pinned him to the  
  
ground as the gun skittered away.   
  
"What are you, crazy?!?" Rachel yelled as Cassie and Jake caught  
  
up to her. "What are you trying to do, shooting Eran?"   
  
"What are you? Insane and stupid?" Marco yelled back angerly.  
  
"The pathetic bullet's dead. It's a blank. A dud. A vegetable. It can't  
  
move a millimeter. Itcan't hurt a fly even if it is snuggled up next to  
  
it, much less a full-grownjock thirty feet away."   
  
"What?" Rachel said, her intense face going blank.   
  
"The stupid bullet's already been shot, duh."   
  
Rachel let him go and helped him to his feet. "Just don't ever do  
  
that again," she said angerly.   
  
"Yes, mom," he replied irritably.   
  
"Now, why did you do that?" Jake asked.   
  
"He wanted to see his reaction," Cassie answered for Marco,  
  
having regained her composure. "Isn't it?"   
  
Marco nodded. "Well, at least one of you isn't an idiot," he  
  
muttered, glaring at Rachel as he favored a leg and rubbed a sore  
  
arm.   
  
"I didn't see a reaction," Cassie continued before Rachel could say  
  
anything. "And it would seem out of character, anyway."   
  
"How's that?" Jake asked.   
  
"Even if Eran had a motive for wanting to hurt Tobias, which he  
  
didn't, he wouldn't have used an unfamiliar weapon in such a  
  
cowardly way."   
  
"So," Jake said peppily. "Are we agreed? About Eran?"   
  
Rachel said "Yes." Cassie nodded.   
  
Marco said "Sure, why not? All we have to risk if we are wrong is  
  
a shot in the back. You know, I could still think of a dozen other  
  
ways how he could still be faking, but don't worry," he grinned.  
  
"I'll watch our backs."   
  
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Then I *know* we are dead. But all of this  
  
still doesn't help us find whoever shot Tobias and kidnapped Ax."   
  
"One down, ten billion to go," Marco agreed.   
  
Ariana was about to speak up, but Lecrian gently shushed her. "  
  
They need to talk this through," he whispered, "without  
  
interferance." She, Eran and Themistook the hint and remained  
  
silent, intently watching the four remainingchildren.   
  
Cassie gently touched Jake's arm and looked at him straight in the  
  
eye. "Jake, can you tell us what you know? You know, exactly  
  
what did you find and piecetogether?"   
  
Jake looked doubtful. "A little," he consented. "There had been a  
  
fight of some kind, but I can't find any clues as to who Tobias and  
  
Ax were fighting. Thosetwo seemed to follow each other  
  
throughout the room, Ax slashing up furnitureand walls and Tobias  
  
overturning a table, but no one else was there. Ax's scentstopped  
  
where the table was, while Tobias went to the door, where he  
  
opened itand got shot. The fake Eran was about twenty feet away  
  
when he shot Tobias, and he never   
  
entered the room. Instead, he went back to Eran's room, to the  
  
closet where Eran was hidden, and disappeared. And Ax didn't go  
  
after him. Instead, he morphed to harrier and flew out the broken  
  
window."   
  
Lecrian felt a chill in the air. A fight against an enemy that wasn't  
  
there, Ax abandoning Tobias and not going after the imposter, and  
  
the imposter framing hisbest friend perfectly, even disappearing  
  
exactly where Eran would be found.   
  
Apparently, the others felt just as spooked.   
  
"Ooooooooo-kay," Marco said. "I felt *that* chill go down my  
  
spine." He looked in frightful awe at Jake. "How in the world did  
  
you get any sleep with thatX-Files-slash-ghost-slash-conspiracy  
  
story floating around in your head?"   
  
"More importantly," Rachel interjected, "what does it mean?"   
  
"I don't know," Jake admitted, answering both questions.   
  
There was a short, uneasy silence, broken by Cassie. "The only one  
  
who knows what happened," Cassie said softly, "is Tobias."   
  
"Yeah," Rachel agreed, "but I'm still not going to let anyone wake  
  
him up."   
  
"We may not have to," Jake said, the wheels turning in his head.  
  
He looked at Lecrian. "I think you know what happened."   
  
Lecrian was surprized. "Me?"   
  
"Or at least you can find out. With your power."   
  
That turned everyone's heads. Lecrian suddenly found himself to be  
  
the center of attention, as Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, Ariana,  
  
Eran, and even his fatherstared at him.   
  
"I ... " Lecrian stammered. "I, uh, I guess I could. But I'll need  
  
Tobias to do it."   
  
"Why?" Rachel challenged defensively.   
  
"Because he was there. I'll need to focus through him to call up that  
  
specific event up. But when I do, everyone will see it," he  
  
cautioned. "Sorry, heappologized, "but that is how it has always  
  
worked before."   
  
"Let's do it!" Rachel said automatically. One by one, the other  
  
Animorphs nodded. Even gentle, tender Cassie agreed to see  
  
everything that happened toTobias and Ax.   
  
Lecrian looked at the scribes, and at his friend, sister, and father  
  
with a question in his eyes. Both Eran and Themis really wanted to  
  
know. Ariana didn'twant to see it, but she decided to go through  
  
with it if Eran was going to. The scribes shuttered and didn't look  
  
at the prince.   
  
"So," King Themis said. "Everyone's going?" By 'eveyone'  
  
meaning everyone except the scribes.   
  
"Yes."   
  
Themis nodded, and instantly everyone was in Tobias' room,  
  
startling Marah so badly that she almost screamed for the guards.  
  
With her were three servants.Themis raised an eyebrow when he  
  
saw them.   
  
"They are lending me strength," Marah explained when she  
  
regained her composure, "so I could support Tobias better. What is  
  
it?"   
  
"We need to know what happened last night," Themis said grimly,  
  
giving Lecrian a sideways look. Marah got the message.   
  
"Are you sure that there isn't another way?" she asked, her face  
  
going white.   
  
"If there was, we wouldn't have to do this."   
  
She instantly dismissed the servants after they lent her some more  
  
of their strength. They staggered out of the room.   
  
Lecrian pulled up a chair and sat by his mother. She reached out  
  
and touched his shoulder, ready to help him if he needed it.   
  
Lecrian placed a hand on the comatose Tobias' chest and began to  
  
gather his power He paused to look around the room, at the heroes  
  
and at his familystanding around the bed.   
  
"You may all want a seat," he warned, then he unleashed his  
  
power.   
  
The world shifted. Suddenly, everyone found themselves in Tobias'  
  
old room, watching Tobias and Ax morphing to human. Tobias  
  
was by the window, and Ax bythe door.   
  
~~~   
  
I'm surprized Marco kept you from the refreshments for so long,  
  
Ax, Tobias said as he looked out the window. Ax stopped  
  
morphing, then reversed it.   
  
Well, Tobias continued, not concerned about Ax's silence.  
  
Time to go back. He turned around and looked at Ax just as he  
  
made the transition from bird to human. He did a double-take. He  
  
just stared at Ax with intense, golden brownhawk eyes.   
  
What? Ax asked. What is it?   
  
While he still had hawk eyes focused on Ax, Tobias asked weirdly,  
  
"Hey, Ax, what's that?"   
  
Ax looked around, alarmed. I don't see anything.   
  
The harsh golden brown eyes faded into Tobias' tender, soft blue  
  
eyes. His skook his head in confusion.   
  
"I thought I saw something, but it's not there anymore. It looked  
  
like a ghost." Tobias laughed. "Guess I've been using these lame  
  
human eyes for too long. Butcome on, Ax-man, morph already."   
  
Ax didn't morph. Instead, he turned around and lowered the  
  
wooden plank that served as a primative lock, barring the door.   
  
"What? Ax-man," Tobias asked uncertainly, approaching him.  
  
"What're you doing?"   
  
Without warning, Ax attacked. His tail was nothing more than a  
  
blur as it flew at Tobias.   
  
Faintly, so faintly that it was inaudible, a voice cried "no"   
  
Hawk instinct that was permanently infused into Tobias took over.  
  
It saved his life.   
  
"Ahhhh!!!" Tobias cried as he dived to his left.   
  
Ax almost missed. A shallow gash opened on Tobias's arm.   
  
Tobias clutched at his wound and backed away from Ax, his eyes  
  
wide in disbelief.   
  
"Ax! What are you doing?!"   
  
Faintly, ever so faintly, a voice tried to make itself heard. Tobias,  
  
run. Get out of here. I can't help it. I can't stop him.   
  
Ax struck again, but it was slow and awkward. With no time to  
  
demorph, Tobias jumped back unscathed, but he tumbled  
  
backwards onto the couch, helpless.   
  
Ax brought his tail up for a final strike. He hesitated.   
  
That hesitation was all Tobias needed. He pushed himself off the  
  
couch and shoved Ax back in one motion, then ran as fast as he  
  
could toward the barreddoor.   
  
Ax suddenly recovered, and with all of his natural grace and speed  
  
leaped, landing between Tobias and the door.   
  
Tobias slipped. Of all things, he slipped. He fell with a painful  
  
"Uph!" in front of the crazed Ax. With the helpless boy laying  
  
before him, Ax struck.   
  
no   
  
He missed. The tail blade hit the cold stone floor sending sparks  
  
flying everywhere. The tail tip splintered. Given another chance,  
  
Tobias swept his legunder Ax, sending him tumbling to the  
  
ground, got up, and ran to the door.   
  
"I don't know what's gotten into you, Ax," Tobias told him as he  
  
raised the bar with clumsy human hands, "but I'm getting help."   
  
duck And this time, Tobias heard. Tobias immediately ducked  
  
down, narrowly avoiding another bullwhip slash that shreaded the  
  
tapestry on both sides of thedoor and carved a dull slash across it.   
  
Ax struck over and over in a rapid volley, chasing Tobias away  
  
from the door, but each swipe was slow compared to Ax's normal  
  
lightning quickness, andeach one was aimed wrong, as if it was  
  
deflected.   
  
Chased by Ax, Tobias ran towards the table. Just as Ax struck  
  
again, Tobias dived under it. Ax's blinted blade buried itself in the  
  
top, poking through justover Tobias's head.   
  
"You're possessed, aren't you?" Tobias realized. "And you're  
  
fighting. That's why I'm not dead yet."   
  
Get out of here, Tobias, Ax's captive soul plead as distant  
  
thunder sounded. Run.   
  
"Hold on, Ax-man," Tobias encouraged him as he scurried to the  
  
far side of the table. Placing his hands above him on the underside  
  
of it, Tobias stood. Thetable end lifted, and with a forward push it  
  
toppled over, burying Ax under itsawkward weight. With his tail  
  
caught onto it, he couldn't dodge.   
  
Ax thrashed and flailed vainly under the table. Approaching  
  
thunder boomed.   
  
"Keep fighting it, Ax," Tobias urged as he blew past the struggling  
  
Andalite and ran towards the door. He threw the door open.   
  
On the other side, just thirty feet away, stood Eran, holding a gun  
  
pointed directly at him.   
  
CRACKKKK/BOOM!!! The gun exploded in the same instant that  
  
the castle shook.   
  
Instantly, Tobias jerked backwards off his feet. He fell, and didn't  
  
move. A red spot grew from his chest, spreading rapidly.  
  
Something huge far away roared.   
  
Hatred glowing from his eyes, Eran said, "Walk away from ~that,~  
  
Bird-boy."   
  
Eran blew his smoking gun, then grinned cockily at Ax, who  
  
finally managed to free himself. Ax glared at Eran.   
  
"Having a hard time controlling space-boy?" Eran said.   
  
~~~   
  
While this was happening, Marah couldn't feel a heartbeat from  
  
Tobias. She loosened her hold on Lecrian so she could devote more  
  
energy on the boy.   
  
Immediately, everything changed. The image stalled, then swirled  
  
away in a tornado.   
  
"No!" Lecrian cried as he lost what little control he had.   
  
Suddenly, everyone was washed up in Lecrian's power. Random  
  
images flashed. People spoke in a distorted order.   
  
Everything was a mess.   
  
~~~   
  
"Ax! What are you doing?" Cassie demanded.   
  
Ax had his tail blade to Jake's throat.   
  
"Are you NUTS?"   
  
Prince Jake has been taken.   
  
Prince Jake, something is wrong. This does not feel like a Sario  
  
Rip.   
  
We could never make war again. Not open war, at least. The  
  
conflict would have to be carried on by different means.   
  
Fusion bomb? Ax laughed. A fusion explosive? That's what it  
  
was?   
  
Dolfins hid in an ocean.   
  
I assumed it was a small proton-shift weapon, at least.   
  
Something burning fell toward the earth as the dolfins watched.   
  
I don't run out on people who've saved my life   
  
No longer a savage battle. Now it must be a chess game.   
  
The fire hit. The world exploded.   
  
There would be rules.   
  
I just keep hoping this is all some big misunderstanding. How do  
  
we fight against a traitor? An Animorph?   
  
"Once I put you and your friends in a position to give your former  
  
species a chance ..."   
  
Found one! I don't know the yield, but it's definately an explosive  
  
devise!   
  
If I do this, do you promise that they will be safe?   
  
"And now you are in a position to help the Hork-Bajir. Do they not  
  
deserve the same chance as humans?"   
  
"And Crayak plays the same long, patient game the Ellimist does."   
  
"Yes."   
  
"What? Not so brave now, little Jake?"   
  
"I'm saying maybe Crayak wants us there. Maybe he wants us to  
  
say yes. And you know what?"   
  
"Crayak doesn't like you, Big Jake. Any of you."   
  
"That's not because he thinks we'll win."   
  
"Why me? Why stick me with this job? What am I, some kind of  
  
hero?"   
  
"You're not even in high school yet and you're the most wanted  
  
person in the Yeerk Empire. Visser Three would trade his Blade  
  
ship for your head on a stick."   
  
Limits.   
  
"Tobias, you are a beginning. You are a point on which an entire  
  
time line may turn."   
  
"If you ever find yourself desperate, Rachel. At an end. In need.  
  
Remember this:"   
  
"All will be lost if you do not do it."   
  
I did what had to be done, alright?! I did what had to be done.   
  
~~~   
  
Having stabilized, Tobias, Marah reached out to her son again.  
  
Lecrian regained a little bit of control and tried to focus on  
  
whoever shot Tobias.   
  
But something was wrong. After her first contact, her power  
  
stopped working. Something was blocking her. Nullifying her.   
  
~~~   
  
"Saddler. Where's Saddler? The real one?" Rachel asked.   
  
A boy looked at Rachel and Jake triumphantly.   
  
"I guess we'll have to ask David, won't we?"   
  
Brave words, but you're mine. Just like that Bird-boy of yours  
  
was mine.   
  
A gun! A gun? This kid has a gun?!   
  
"I asked him what it was like when we morphed trout. Just to test  
  
his memory."   
  
Cassie touched Rachel. Rachel became dazed. Lethargic.   
  
"And I answered that it wasn't bad except that the cracker-crumb  
  
coating chafed a little and I was allergic to tartar sauce."   
  
One Marco stood over another Marco, grinning wickedly.   
  
"Now could you all stop playing that game? I'm afraid I'll miss a  
  
punchline and Rachel will morph to grizzly and eat me before I  
  
have a chance to say anything."   
  
A huge eagle stood on a bedpost, near a bloodied bird.   
  
What are you doing, hurting Tobias?   
  
Already there used to be six of you and now there are just five.  
  
Pretty soon, Jake, it'll be four.   
  
A shifting Marco stood over a broken bird, bat in his hand. He  
  
laughed.   
  
I think Tobias is dead. I think David killed him.   
  
You can't judge me! You're not God!   
  
Nooooooo!   
  
Tobias   
  
Ax and Rachel carried a rat to a deserted island. The rat was  
  
wailing in despair.   
  
You can't do this! You can't do this!   
  
is   
  
A hawk stood alone in a meadow, crying.   
  
A rat wailed loudly, alone on an island.   
  
"You know what I want. You *know.*"   
  
dead.   
  
And Tobias continued to weep. And David continued to moan.   
  
~~~   
  
The vision faded into blackness, then faded away.   
  
Lecrian, red-faced and feverish, held his head in both trembling  
  
hands. The Animorphs were dead silent. Even the royal family had  
  
nothing to say about thenightmare.   
  
After a few seconds, Marco broke the silence. "Well. Those were  
  
some memories I had no desire to revisit." The others nodded their  
  
assent.   
  
Shakily, Marco continued. "It's David."   
  
Rachel shot him a "so what" look. "We all know that that was  
  
Davey-boy." Rachel spat.   
  
Marco gave her an "are you dumb?" look. "No. I meant that it was  
  
David who shot Tobias."   
  
"No way," Rachel said.   
  
"Yes way." Marco countered.   
  
"But David is a rat."   
  
"Wasn't he always?"   
  
"He's a nothlit."   
  
"So was Tobias."   
  
"So how come he has his powers back, smarty. And why should he  
  
be here?"   
  
"Crayak," Jake answered grimmly. He looked down on Tobias.  
  
"Crayak can and would give David his power back, just like the  
  
Ellimist gave Tobias his. In fact, I wouldn't put it past Crayak if he  
  
was responsible for us suddenly showing uphere and sent David  
  
after us."   
  
For a while, nobody said anything. Cassie stood next to him, giving  
  
him her support.   
  
"Let's go rescue Ax," he said.   
  
Everyone agreed. The rest of the day was spent preparing for an  
  
attack on Zilos' castle. Dragons flew in, soldiers sharpened swords  
  
and polished armor, farmersdonated food, a search was conducted  
  
for David (he wasn't found anywhere in the   
  
kingdom), and the Animorphs rested.   
  
* * * * *   
  
When Ax woke up, he couldn't tell when or if he opened his eyes.  
  
There was complete and total darkness all around him. He couldn't  
  
feel any aircirculation. In the distance, he could hear water slowly  
  
drip.   
  
He blindly reached forward and soon found a barrier. It was  
  
smooth, polished and curvedup above him and to his sides.   
  
Ax morphed bat and used echolocation. His suspicions were  
  
confirmed. He was in a flawless globe. A force field of sorts.   
  
This is not good, Ax thought as he demorphed.   
  
About fourteen hours and fifty-seven minutes later, he heard a door  
  
open and close, then two sets of foot steps of two-legged creatures  
  
approach.   
  
A light slowly appeared, so Ax could see the silouhette of the iron  
  
bars of a door.The light got brighter, and Ax had to shield his eyes  
  
from the glare.   
  
"Well, well, well. Here's the newest addition to my collection," a  
  
familiar voice said.   
  
As Ax's eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, Zilos' eternally  
  
young face appeared through the grate. Pale blue eyes as hard as  
  
agates shone in malice ashe looked on Ax.   
  
Rage boiled up in Ax. You're not going to get away with this, you  
  
... you yeerk filth.   
  
"I already have. What's left of your friends are coming for you, but  
  
I have a surprize for them. But first, I want to introduce you to  
  
someone. An oldfriend." Zilos stepped aside, and Eran took his  
  
place.   
  
As much as he hated Zilos, Ax hated Eran more. Traitor! he  
  
cried. You traitor!   
  
"Got it in one, Ax-man, but not the one you think," Eran taunted  
  
him.   
  
What are you talking about?   
  
Eran smirked a familiar smirk. "You mean you don't remember  
  
me? I remember you." His smirk slowly gave way to a near-growl.  
  
"I remember how you counted off the last minutes of my life,  
  
Andalite. I remember how you tortured me for almost twohours by  
  
counting down oh so accurately the time I had left. I didn't forget it,  
  
Andalite, and now you're going to pay."   
  
David?! Ax cried in disbelief. But you're a nothlit.   
  
"And you made sure of it, didn't you. Well, I'm not a nothlit now,  
  
am I."   
  
How... Ax began, but couldn't quite finish.   
  
Eran/David smirked again. "I'm not telling you this secret. Fair's  
  
fair. You kept a secret from me, I keep a secret from you." David  
  
stepped away. Zilosreappeared as David walked away.   
  
"I bet you're going to say that your friends are coming to save you.  
  
You know, you'd be right, except for one thing."   
  
And what would that be? Ax asked irritably.   
  
Zilos laughed. "I want them here. I want King Themis, his family,  
  
and your four friends to be as close as possible."   
  
Why?   
  
"You'll see," he teased as he turned away. The light followed him.  
  
Soon, Ax heard a heavy door open and shut. A few minutes later,  
  
he could hear the soundof water dripping again in the stone cold  
  
silence.   
  
Ax tried to keep them talking as long as he could so he could see  
  
his surroundings. He looked for a possible way out.   
  
There wasn't. No way to escape. No way to warn Prince Jake and  
  
the others of David or the trap Zilos had planned.   
  
He was failing them. Again. Just as he had failed Tobias. His  
  
brother wouldn't have failed them, as he was.   
  
If Andalites could cry, Ax would've. So, he cried the way all  
  
Andalites cry. In his hearts. 


	4. Part 4

Jake sat in a black, smooth, weak-looking chair, holding his head  
  
in his hands. He was shaking. Shaking badly.   
  
Cassie came and sat next to him in a similar chair. Without a word,  
  
she hugged him and held him while his shaking slowly lessened.   
  
"Cassie did not hate," a detached, little-girl's voice said simply.   
  
The peaceful, healing scene melted away, replaced by a huge,  
  
metallic vehicle far underwater. Six creatures were swimming  
  
away from it. Dolphins.   
  
The vehicle exploded. Blinding light consumed everything,  
  
including the dolphins. Water erupted and rippled away at  
  
lightning speed. Even the landbeyond the water was affected by the  
  
blast, trembling as if it was hit by anearthquake.   
  
Ax fixed it so it'll be a dud, Tobias's disembodied voice  
  
explained. Just asthe deadly waves hit the sea shelf and began to  
  
grow, Lecrian's dream eyes grewdim, as if he was going blind, until  
  
darkness consumed him, too.   
  
Someone or something is using me, and I don't like it very  
  
much. Tobias saidangerly in the total darkness.   
  
The darkness remained absolute, but Lecrian could no longer hear  
  
the trembling earth.Instead, he heard the sound of dripping water,  
  
so faint that any other noicewould make it impossible to hear.   
  
Then he couldn't hear it anymore. Someone was walking, and that  
  
someone carried a light of some sort, because Lecrian could see a  
  
light coming from the samedirection as the sound.   
  
As the light drew closer, Lecrian could see that he was inside the  
  
stone walls of a dungeon. The room was empty, and there were cell  
  
doors all around. One of thedoors had a light behind it, and it was  
  
growing brighter.   
  
Without thinking, Lecrian walked to and looked into one of the  
  
cells.   
  
Aximili stood there. He looked haggard and tired, despairing. He  
  
was surrounded by a force field, preventing him from using  
  
aninsect morph to escape. Aximili heard the man coming, and  
  
suddenly he wasn'thaggard anymore. In sheer, angry defiance and  
  
frustration, Aximili's tailflashed, slicing atthe globe.   
  
Lecrian heard the door open, but he couldn't turn his dream head to  
  
see who it was. Instead, he began to float like a ghost into Aximili's  
  
cell. No longerrestrained by the need for light, Lecrian saw the  
  
crack.   
  
There was a crack in the globe. It was small, nearly invisible, but it  
  
was there.   
  
But the cell was too dark. Even with the light approaching, the cell  
  
would be too dark for Aximili to see it, especially now that he has  
  
given up hope ofescaping on his own.   
  
~~~   
  
Everyone was on the move the next day. The dragons flew, each  
  
one carrying many of the soldiers of Hivena on their backs. The  
  
Animorphs, too, flew, but in bird morph. They only stopped to  
  
land, demorph, and remorph again.   
  
As night approached, Levakh came into view. Jake, Rachel, Cassie  
  
and Marco saw it way before anyone else did.   
  
My word! Cassie exclaimed.   
  
The lush, vast Forest Sea that served as a natural boundary between  
  
Levakh and the neighboring kingdoms came to an abrupt end.  
  
Beyond it, the flat plain wasblack, as if it was burnt, even though it  
  
wasn't. All light was absorbed by the   
  
blackness of the land. Even the setting sun could not color that  
  
land. The castle itself was a huge, lightless, spiring monolith,  
  
scraping the sky.   
  
As they flew closer, and before the sun could set, the four of them  
  
gave their report.   
  
Talk about overkill, Marco exclaimed. What could he possibly  
  
use all thoserejects for? To teach him the "monster mash?"   
  
"What is it?" King Themis asked loudly, trying to be heard over the  
  
fast moving air. He knew that the Animorphs had excelent hearing  
  
in their bird forms, but he didn't want to test just how good their  
  
hearing was, especiaslly when he had ahard time hearing himself.   
  
He rode the golden Dragon King at the head of the army with the  
  
Animorphs, but neither of them could make out outline of the  
  
castle, much less anything else.   
  
He has a whole army! Rachel reported. Thunder lizards,  
  
phoenixes, pegasuses,giants --   
  
They might be giants, Marco interjected.   
  
--vampires... Cassie, what are those called?   
  
Perytons, gallu, manticores, bug bears...the list goes on. Cassie  
  
finished just as the sun crossed the line between mostly over the  
  
horizon to mostly underthe horizon.   
  
Anyway, Jake said, there's a lot there.   
  
"How many?" the Dragon King said, clearly heard over the wind.   
  
I don't know. Anyone good at estimating?   
  
Thousands of monsters, Rachel answered without hesitation,  
  
and a few more thousand regular guys.   
  
Marco looked at her in wonder. At least it looked like it should  
  
have been wonder, being an osprey's face. What? Now Shopping  
  
Queen Xena can count at a glance? I'm impressed.   
  
Themis wasn't happy.   
  
"Rurga! How in the world did he get that much power?!" he yelled  
  
angerly.   
  
Huh? What do you mean? Jake asked, shocked at the outburst.   
  
"He's a summoner!" he stated lividly, still making sure that he is  
  
heard. "That is all he is. He doesn't have very many sources of  
  
magic. Certainly not fromhimself or from the land. He simply  
  
doesn't have the power to summon such anarmy, much less control  
  
it."   
  
I don't understand, Cassie said. What was that about getting  
  
magic from magicfrom the land?   
  
Themis slowly calmed down. "There are many forms of magic," he  
  
explained. He looked at his sons flying behind him. "Some magic  
  
in part of us. It is limitedin that no more is learned, but it never  
  
leaves you because it comes directlyfrom within. Your self is the  
  
source of the magic. My magic is diverse andadaptable, but I can't  
  
just call it up from anywhere. My magic mostly comes frommy  
  
home, though I still do have a little bit that comes from me.  
  
Summoners,though," he said as his face hardened, "get their magic  
  
from others."   
  
He looked back at the dark land. "He couldn't summon an army  
  
that large. Not unless he's either tapping into a very powerful,  
  
godlike being, or from a sourcethat doesn't run out of magic." He  
  
sighed, this time calming down all the wayback to normal.   
  
Themis? We need to rest, Jake said in private thought-speech.  
  
We've been flying all day with no breaks. The others are trying to  
  
not complain, but I knowthat they are out on their feet. You know,  
  
dead tired.   
  
Themis nodded. "I was thinking of the same thing about my men,"  
  
he said to himself.   
  
Soon, camp was set. A good dinner was cooked by the patient  
  
chefs, gaurds were set, shifts were decided, the dragons flew  
  
tirelessly overhead, looking forthrie own food, and the Animorphs  
  
and the princes and king got ready to rest.   
  
As the camp was settling down, Rachel sat next to a fire, alone.  
  
She was thinking hard, looking for some answers and not finding  
  
any.   
  
"Hi, Rachel," Cassie greeted her as she came up to her. She saw the  
  
frustrated, almost haunted look on Rachel's face. "Would you like  
  
some company?"   
  
Rachel grunted. "Sure."   
  
Cassie sat down, looking at Rachel that sideways look that Rachel  
  
was so familiar with. Rachel sighed, deciding to just give Cassie  
  
the answers intead ofwait for her to figure out what was bothering  
  
her.   
  
"Why Tobias?" she asked, not really directing the question to her  
  
best friend. "Why did David shoot him?"   
  
"Maybe because it was because he thought he killed him before,  
  
and he wanted to get him this time. You know, a grudge against the  
  
one who got away."   
  
"But Tobias was ~human.~ Didn't David himself say that he  
  
wouldn't kill a human? Just animals?"   
  
Cassie hasitated. "He's not human anymore. He believes that no  
  
human laws bind him, now. An animal can't murder. At least that  
  
would be his excuse.   
  
Rachel looked away and was quiet for a while. Cassie knew what  
  
she was thinking.   
  
"But he hates me more. Much more than Tobias. Why didn't he  
  
shoot me, instead?"   
  
Cassie hugged her friend. For a while, she didn't answer. When she  
  
did, soft and strained, feeling Rachel's pain.   
  
"What could hurt you more," she said, "than seeing Tobias die?"   
  
For a long while, neither girl said anything. They just listened to  
  
the fire pop and to the blowing wind.   
  
"He'll be alright," Rachel firmly said. "I know he will be."   
  
"Yeah. He will," Cassie confirmed. "He will recover soon. He  
  
always has."   
  
Not too far away, something hovered unseen in the air. It was a  
  
larah, an invisible, ghost-like being.   
  
The larah scowled, turned, and floated away.   
  
Bird-boy's not going to get away from me again, David vowed,  
  
as he silently flew back towards Hivena.   
  
* * * * *   
  
The sun was just thinking of waking up. Nothing moved except a  
  
small, black creature named Jake.   
  
Jake crawled through the black land surrounding the castle of  
  
Levakh. He was a pure black, scrawny thing that stood two feet tall  
  
at best, with skeletal,spindly limbs with sharp joints, clawed hands  
  
and feet, and small, sharp,shark-like teeth. He was a goblin, one of  
  
the nastier members of the faeriefamily.   
  
Jake crept closer to the sleeping castle and army, invisible against  
  
the blackness of the land. He had to crane his thin neck to see the  
  
tops of thetowers. Basilisks, a kind of large lizard, draped  
  
themselves over the walls.They were joined by harpies, griffins,  
  
phoenixes, pegasuses, and several otherflying creatures that Jake  
  
did not recognize. At the base of the castle walls, amoat of oily  
  
water swirled restlessly, in spite of the unmoving air. Outside of  
  
the moat, hundreds of monsters laid asleep. Hundreds of giants of  
  
all kinds,spinxes, scorpion-tailed manticores, giant bull men,  
  
wingless lizards of allsizes, cats of all kinds, even the rare peryton,  
  
a winged, man-eating deer. Onlythe vampires were up and around,  
  
but even they were heading back to their coffins as the sun's deadly  
  
rays slowly brightened. The drawbridge was down, butonly so a  
  
couple of cyclopes could lay on it. Looking past them, Jake could  
  
see moremonsters, but also the human half of the army. With his  
  
goblin eyes, he couldsee that some of the soldiers' weapons were  
  
glowing with the aura of magic.   
  
How in the world are we going to get Ax out of there? he  
  
mused.   
  
Something virtually invisible floated up behind him.   
  
Boo! it said.   
  
Ahhhhh! Jake yelled. He spun around and hissed at the larah  
  
hovering behind him. It was tall, with light brown hair and totally  
  
white eyes. It looked like a human ghost, except for the fact that it  
  
had teeth. Very, very sharp teeth.   
  
Larahs look almost identical to ghosts. Ghosts, though eerie, are  
  
basically harmless. Larahs are not.   
  
And Jake didn't like larahs. Not in the least. He really did not want  
  
to mess with one right then, and the goblin mind wholeheartedly  
  
agreed.   
  
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! the deadly larah laughed, its menacing  
  
presense melting away as it held its sides in a feeble   
  
attempt to control its laughter.   
  
Jake recognized the voice.   
  
Marco?!   
  
Of course it's me, he answered, finally getting a hold on himself.  
  
Who elsewould it be?   
  
Jake shuttered, still trying to control his panic. You almost gave  
  
me a heart attack! Please. Don't do that again. You know what  
  
happened last time.   
  
Marco remembered and winced. Sorry, man.   
  
Jake finally calmed down. Okay, okay. What are you doing up?   
  
Well, Marco began, it all started with the sudden silence.   
  
What? Jake asked, confused.   
  
You stopped snoring, Marco explained. The sudden silence  
  
woke me up. Knowingjust how un-bright you are, I had to come  
  
looking for you. And what are youdoing here, may I ask.   
  
Jake looked over his shoulder at the castle. Checking things out. I  
  
was hoping to find a way in, but I can't even get close. The soldiers  
  
have magical weapons.I think Themis would like to know that.   
  
No he won't. He'll hate the news. And you better get out of here,  
  
fearless leader. Marco nodded to his left. Some cousins of the  
  
ghost are scouting thearea.   
  
Larahs?   
  
Some are, but I didn't recognize the rest. So, get out of here  
  
already, Jake. I'll cover you.   
  
Jake nodded, looked one last time at the impenetrable fortress, and  
  
scampered away just as the sun barely started to peek over the  
  
horizon.   
  
* * * * *   
  
An hour later...   
  
"Okay, guys," Jake began as he bent down to pick up a couple of  
  
black twigs.   
  
"Now all we need to do is decide who's going to go."   
  
"Rachel will! Rachel will!" Marco cried excitedly but before she  
  
could volunteer.   
  
"Oh, shut up, Marco," Rachel grumbled good-naturely.   
  
Earlier, Jake and Marco woke Rachel and Cassie up. They and the  
  
rest of the army had a quick breakfast, then got ready for the battle.  
  
Marco was right: Themiswasn't happy with the news about the  
  
magical weapons, but he was gratefulnonetheless. Finally, the four  
  
of them put their heads together and came to anagreement: Ax  
  
needed special attention if he was to be rescued, but Themis  
  
wouldneed help, too. Two Animorphs find a way into the castle,  
  
the other two stay out   
  
and fight.   
  
"Hey, I was only trying to make life easier for you," Marco  
  
defended himself.   
  
"You failed miserably," Rachel grumbled again.   
  
Jake snapped the twigs in two, making sure that one half of each  
  
twig was smaller than the other half. He turned his back to them,  
  
gripped them in such away that no one could tell which ones were  
  
shortest, then turned back around.   
  
"Shorter ones go. Long stay."   
  
Rachel reached for a twig first. Long.   
  
"Awwww, poor Xena," Marco said, reaching for his twig.   
  
"Short," Rachel commented. "How accurate."   
  
Then Cassie. Short.   
  
"Looks like you're stuck with me, Cassie," Marco chimed, tossing  
  
the broken twig behind him. Jake just looked tired.   
  
Crimber, dressed in light leather armor, ran up to them. "Jake, we  
  
are about to start. You ready?"   
  
Jake nodded. The others nodded with him.   
  
As they followed Crimber to his father, Marco muttered, "Whoa. I  
  
just now realized just how insane our idea is."   
  
* * * * *   
  
One hour before dawn...   
  
Rachel approached the golden Dragon King. She admired him, his  
  
sheer power, grace, and intelligence, but she had a specific  
  
question in mind.   
  
"Hey, Dragon King!" she called. He turned his huge, beautiful head  
  
to look at her with pure red eyes. "Is it alright if I morph that black  
  
dragon? I'd ask him myself, but he doesn't appear to be here at the  
  
moment."   
  
The Dragon King grinned. His smile was full of polished, long,  
  
sword-like teeth. "Of course," he answered easily.   
  
Rachel grinned in return, then walked back to where Lecrian was  
  
talking to her friends.   
  
* * * * *   
  
At dawn...   
  
The sun just barely peeked over the horizon. The air was crisp and  
  
chill, and a thin mist spread over the black lands of Levakh.   
  
All of the earthbound monstrous army of Zilos silently stood at  
  
attention, with the human half standing behind them with weapons  
  
ready. They filled the the black plainssurrounding the castle.  
  
Inside, more soldiers and a few of the smaller monstersguarded the  
  
home of the summoner, who stood atop the highest tower,  
  
hisfaithful, black pegasus standing nearby. The air above the castle  
  
was filledwith all of the flying creatures at his command.   
  
Advancing on Zilos and his army was King Themis, the Dragon  
  
King, and their armies. Themis's human but strong, skilled and  
  
forever loyal army spread acrossthe land and chanted their battle  
  
song. Themis himself marched at their head, along with his sons  
  
and a werewolf namedJake. Above them, the Dragon King and his  
  
army of multicolored, multi-powered   
  
dragons flew, and Rachel flew with them.   
  
Jake loped alongside Herlim, alert. He didn't like the odds.   
  
Maybe it's for the best, Jake mused.   
  
"And what's for the best?" Herlim asked strainfully. He was  
  
focussing on all of the blades of the army, making the edges of  
  
them glow red-hot. Crimber washelping him, aiming Herlim's  
  
energy with unerring accuracy.   
  
How it's just me and Rachel out here and Marco and Cassie going  
  
in. He sighedsadly, grateful that neither Cassie nor Marco would  
  
be under direct attack, andthat Rachel was with him.   
  
With a blood-curdling cry, the battle began.   
  
Surging with the tide of humanity behind him, Jake sprinted  
  
forward, teeth bared and claws gleaming. He leaped upon a cyclops  
  
and scampered up its body withlightning speed until he reached the  
  
head. With his clawed hand, he slashed at   
  
the single eye, blinding it just as it swiped at him. It screamed in  
  
pain and rage, but it was out of any real fight.   
  
The army easily sidestepped its blundering feet and surged past it,  
  
attacking more immediately dangerous monsters. Lecrian and his  
  
brothers stayed with theirfather, who focused on a spell. Muttering  
  
under his breath, Themis unleashed hisspell, and suddenly a grey  
  
cloud formed overhead. In the sky above, dragons blewfire, ice,  
  
lightening, light, sickness, and many other forms of the  
  
breathattack upon the other flying creatures, while other dragons  
  
dived at the giants.Rachel herself took down two fire giants,  
  
ignoring their fire weapons andbeating them to the ground.   
  
Unnoticed in the chaos, a beam of light flashed from the forest  
  
bordering the black plains. The light ray shot over through the  
  
battle and through a window of the castle, stopping at the first  
  
door. The light came to an abrupt stop.   
  
The light was Cassie, in a humanoid form with four arms, but also  
  
glowed so brightly it hurt to look at her. In her hands, she helhd  
  
tightly onto a man.   
  
The man became intangible like a ghost. He grinned at Cassie with  
  
shark-like teeth, then slipped through the door as if it wasn't even  
  
there.   
  
Cassie opened the door and followed Marco, trying to keep her  
  
shining down. The door led to a stone hallway, with two stairways  
  
on either side, both leadingdown.   
  
Lecrian said 'dungeon,' right? Marco asked as he seeped through  
  
the floor.   
  
Yes, but...hey, wait for me, Marco, Cassie said, flashing over to  
  
the one ofthe stairs.   
  
Marco easily slipped through the stone floors, falling but with a  
  
great deal of control.   
  
He was flying! And without having to use wings, either, so it was  
  
all effortless.   
  
He looked to the side, where there was a flash of light. Cassie was  
  
still trying to find a way to the dungeon, only she couldn't just fall  
  
through the floors.Shewas searching every door, looking for ways  
  
down, and so far she was keeping up with him.   
  
Marco descended many floors, always with Cassie flashing by not  
  
far behind.   
  
He felt nervous the farther he descended, so he felt he need to relief  
  
his stress.   
  
Hey, Cassie. Having trouble?   
  
No, she replied. I'm keeping up.   
  
He passed through one more floor to find himself surrounded by  
  
darkness. What is that glowing thing you morphed into? It looks  
  
like a glow worm, only withlegs and too many arms.   
  
It's called star-child she answered as she opened one last door  
  
and flew down the stairs. Her glowing body lit the stairway leading  
  
to the dungeon very well,andMarco had to cover his eyes from the  
  
glare as she blew past him.   
  
Cassie reached the bottom first. There was one last door. She tried  
  
to open it, but it was locked.   
  
Allow me, Marco offered smugly, sticking a ghostly hand in the  
  
lock. He materialized for an instant, shattering the lock.   
  
OW! he cried, pulling back his injured hand.   
  
Cassie stared at him. Why did you do that?   
  
I felt like being stupid, Marco said sarcastically. Besides, we  
  
needed to get that door open somehow. And he slipped through  
  
the door.   
  
Cassie opened it and followed.   
  
Oh, my, she gasped, looking around at the dungeon. On every  
  
side, there werethick wooden doors with steel bar rods for  
  
windows. There was not a source oflight anywhere. No candles, no  
  
sunlight, no torches, nothing butCassie herself.   
  
Marco grinned. You light up my life, he sang.   
  
Marco? a weak voice said. Cassie?   
  
Ax! Cassie cried. Where are you?   
  
Here. There came a sound of scratching from on of the cells.  
  
Cassie and Marco hurried over to the sound. Marco slipped  
  
through the door while Cassie hoveredoutside looking in.   
  
Ax was held in a globe, but he didn't look all that good. He looked  
  
tired, worn out. Defeated.   
  
Cassie! Marco! Ax exclaimed, visibly brightening, smiling with  
  
his eyes. Then his face darkened. Forgive me.   
  
Whatever for, Ax-man? Marco said, sliding through the globe to  
  
stand with him.   
  
For...for Tobias. For what I did to him.   
  
Oh, come off it, Ax-man. We know what happened.  
  
Zilos-The-Geek possessed you and made you attack him.   
  
He's alright, Ax, Cassie put in compasionately. Tobias is not  
  
dead.   
  
He isn't?! Ax stated happily. That is very good news indeed.  
  
But I need totell you something. David is here.   
  
Yeah, Ax, we know, Marco said as he turned his attention to the  
  
force field.   
  
You do? Well, Zilos has a trap. I do not know what he has  
  
planned, but he seemed very confident that his trap would succeed.  
  
You must get word to PrinceJake.   
  
We will, Ax, but only after we get you out of here. Jake wouldn't  
  
be too happywith us if we left you to the dogs.   
  
Dogs? But there are no dogs here.   
  
Marco continued to study the globe. He thought he spotted  
  
something.   
  
Hey, Cassie, could you brighten things up a little bit in here?   
  
Sure, but you may want to look away, Ax and Marco. And she  
  
slowly began to brighten. Ax turned all four eyes away as she  
  
became too bright to look atdirectly.   
  
Ah, ha! Marco exclaimed. A crack.   
  
What? Ax asked.   
  
There's a flaw in this globe. And it looks like it's Andalite-made.   
  
Ax cheered up considerably. Then there is a way out! Be careful,  
  
Marco. And with that Aximili started to strike at the crack with  
  
his tail repeatedly. Marcoslipped back outside the globe, turned  
  
solid, and started hitting the other side   
  
of the crack.   
  
With the sound of broken glass, the force field shattered. Marco  
  
became transparent again, and Ax stepped out of his prison.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Beneath the dungeon, something slept. It was large and black, with  
  
black fur and a sharp ax. It had two hooves and two hands, and a  
  
bull-like face. Standing at twenty feet, the Gallu towered over it's  
  
relative, the minotaur.   
  
It heard the sound of shattered glass. It openned its red eyes and  
  
pushed itself up.   
  
Loosening its muscles and testing its huge ax, the Gallu walked up  
  
to the hidden staircase that led to the dungeon.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Queen Marah held the onto the fragile boy with one hand and held  
  
her weakening servant's hand on the other. She was careful to not  
  
take too much strength. Shedidn't need much, after all.   
  
When she was done, she released her servant and said, "Thank you.  
  
Bring in Phalie." The servant nodded, bowed, and left to get Phalie.   
  
Marah turned back to her daughter's rescuer as the door shut. Every  
  
now and then, Tobias would stir and mutter something, and he  
  
actually woke up once, buthe was still too weak to have a  
  
conversation with.   
  
"At least he doesn't need extra strength as much as he used to,"  
  
Marah said, trying to look on the bright side of the miserable  
  
situation of being in thesame room with a comatose person for over  
  
48 hours with no rest.   
  
Queen Marah thought about the events of the last few days. So  
  
many things had happened so fast, she almost found it hard to  
  
believe. Her daughter'sdisappearance, the Animorphs' appearance,  
  
the frantic search for Ariana, the many attacks on the castle,  
  
Ariana's being found andbrought home, the ball, and the tragic  
  
events that happened there that causedher husband to call for war  
  
so that Aximili may be saved.   
  
Then she realized that her servant had not arrived.   
  
"Phalie!" Marah called. She waited a few moments, but there was  
  
no answer.   
  
"PHALIE!" she cried. Still no answer. She didn't like this. Not a  
  
bit.   
  
She checked up on Tobias once more, just to be sure that he could  
  
survive without her help for a few minutes. Then she walked over  
  
to the door and tried \to open it.   
  
The door wouldn't budge. It was locked.   
  
She started banging on the door. "Open!" she commanded it. The  
  
doorknob turned, the door shuttered, then it fell silent.   
  
"This is not good," Marah muttered to herself, backing away.   
  
She strained her ears to hear. She could hear some bustle from the  
  
court outside. She can hear the wind rustling the leaves from the  
  
nearby forest. Shecannot hear anything else.   
  
Unnerved, the Queen of Hivena sat next to Tobias. To her surprise,  
  
the boy's eyes were open.   
  
"Tobias," she said gently. "I'm glad you're awake. How do you  
  
feel?"   
  
Tobias thought, looking around the room weakly. "Not so good,"  
  
he answered weakly. "Where are the others?"   
  
Tobias shivered, even though the room wasn't cold. Marah pulled  
  
the blanket over him tighter.   
  
"Your friends are alright," she said to the boy. "They are going to  
  
rescue Aximilifrom Zilos."   
  
"Zilos possessed him," Tobias weakly blurted as best as he could.   
  
Marah nodded. "I know. Lecrian found out."   
  
"Eran shot me. He had a gun." Tobias said, still as weak as before.  
  
His face still showed no emotion.   
  
Marah shook her head sadly. "No, it wasn't. It was someone who  
  
knew you. His name was David."   
  
Tobias didn't say anything. Even though he didn't show a shread of  
  
emotion on his face, Marah knew that the news had shocked him,  
  
judging from the silence.   
  
"But...how?"   
  
"Tobias," she deflected the question. "You need your rest. Now, go  
  
to sleep. No more questions. You need to save your strength."   
  
Obediently, Tobias closed his eyes and relaxed. Marah felt better.  
  
She had beaten death at his own game!   
  
{Mother!} Ariana cried silently in her mind. That shook her out of  
  
her smug thoughts.   
  
{Mother!} Ariana called again. {The whole hallway is clogged up!  
  
We have spydrs!!! And they have completely filled the hallway  
  
outside your room withtheir webs. Wecan't reach you!}   
  
Marah froze. "Oh, no," she muttered. Spydr's are especially  
  
attracted to helpless victims.   
  
Tobias. They were after Tobias.   
  
Marah groped down under the bed until dhe found the old rusty  
  
sword there. The pulled it out and looked around.   
  
No spydrs. None that she can see, at least.   
  
She felt and saw a shadow cloak the room. She turned towards the  
  
window. A two foot tall spydr was crawling through, followed by  
  
two others.   
  
{Mother!!!} Ariana screamed as the three spydrs split up.   
  
{What?!?} Marah thought back irritably, standing as close to  
  
Tobias as possible and trying to keep each spydr in sight.   
  
{One of those spydrs is the one who impersonated Eran. One of  
  
them is David.}   
  
Marah looked hard at the approaching spydrs. Each one had its  
  
eyes focused on Tobias.   
  
"I guess I shall find out which is which the hard way," she  
  
muttered. She swung her sword.   
  
Her rusty sword sung as it flew through the air at the nearest spydr.  
  
It leaped back totally avoiding the blow, then leaped on to her  
  
before she could recover.   
  
"AHHH!" she yelled, hitting it away with her fist. She used extra  
  
strength from her servants and put it into her arm. The spydr  
  
shattered, twitching as it fell to the floor, dead.   
  
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw another spydr leap at Tobias.  
  
She quickly swung her sword around, slicing the spydr in half as it  
  
landed on the boy.   
  
She pivoted back around, fiercely facing the last spydr. The spydr  
  
hesitsted. A very un-spydrlike action.   
  
"You are not going to get him, David," she spat. She could swear  
  
the spydr blinked.   
  
Then the spydr named David got angry. Get out of my way. He's  
  
the one I'm after. Not you. But you'll die if you don't stay out of my  
  
business.   
  
Marah laughed bitterly. "Not my business? He saved my daughter's  
  
life. And then you trapped me in here. Of course this is my  
  
business. And I am not the one who isgoing to die if he does not  
  
skitter out of here."   
  
David laughed. It's a pity. You know, I don't want to do this, but I  
  
have to. They did this to me. They destoyed my family and my life,  
  
then destroyed itagain. So now I'm going to destroy them. One ...  
  
by ... ONE! and David spat ather.   
  
A long, thin line of webbing extending from David's mouth  
  
snagged Marah's sword and jerked it out of her hands. With  
  
lightening speed, David snapped offthe webbing and leaped at  
  
Marah. She screamed and tried to swipe him off butmissed as he  
  
scrambled out of the way of her flailing arms.   
  
David opened his mouth again and spat in her face, blinding her  
  
with his nauseous webbing. Then he leaped off her.   
  
Marah knew why he left her. Using her extra strength, she tore off  
  
the webbing and ran towards Tobias' bed.   
  
Tobias was just beginning to stir. He felt a weight land on his bed.  
  
He opened hiseyes to see a black, furry, ugly face with eight eyes  
  
staring down at him.   
  
You're mine, Bird-boy, David gloated over the sick hero. He had  
  
leaped onto his bed and was now only inches from his face. He  
  
opened his jaws to bit...   
  
Marah screamed, grabbed one of his legs, and tore him off Tobias's  
  
bed just before his poisonous jaws closed. In the same motion, she  
  
threw him against thefar wall, stunning him.   
  
She looked at her fallen sword, but it was covered in webbing,  
  
useless. Turning back to David, she snarled and walked towards  
  
him, fists clentched.   
  
You're just asking to die, aren't you? David asked with a smirk,  
  
shaking off the dizzines.   
  
"I am not the one who will die," Marah repeated. She was only five  
  
feet away from him.   
  
Oh. You're not? And David attacked her. Marah, thinking that  
  
he wouldn't haverecovered so quickly, was caught off-gaurd.   
  
"Ah!" Marah screamed as David bit her shoulder. She swiped him  
  
off while his teeth were still in her. The teeth came out, but tore her  
  
flesh.   
  
She could feel the poison course through her, igniting her. Setting  
  
every nerve on fire. Her brain was bursting in burning pain.   
  
She collapsed on one knee, clutching at her injured shoulder. She  
  
didn't see David rush at her again.   
  
David! a new voice called challengingly. A weak voice, but  
  
very, very familiar. You rat! It's me you want.   
  
David stopped just as he was about to bite the Queen again and  
  
turned to Tobias. Tobias' head was turned to him, his blue eyes  
  
staring straight at him. But hewas too weak to even hold his own  
  
head up.   
  
How many times do I have to kill you, Bird-boy? David asked  
  
as he menacingly crept towards Tobias. Come on. I want a  
  
number. But Tobias' strength wasspent. He couldn't even answer  
  
as he fell back into unconsciousness.   
  
Laughing quietly, David crawled up on Tobias's bed, ignoring  
  
Marah, who was using the tapestries to pull herself up. He opened  
  
his jaws once more to bite at Tobias.   
  
He was too sure of himself to care about the movement to his side.   
  
Suddenly, a slender, delicate hand clamped itself down on him.  
  
The hand lifted him up and held him up high. Helpless.   
  
Wha? he exclaimed. He couldn't struggle. No leverage. He  
  
couldn't turn his head to see, either, but he knew who it was.   
  
Impossible! David yelled. Marah groaned from the noise as it  
  
echoed in her burning brain. You can't be walking! You can't!   
  
Marah didn't listen to him. She wasn't thinking straight, either. All  
  
she knew was that she had to get rid of this spydr.   
  
She staggered to the open window, swaying from weakness and  
  
pain. Ignoring David's screams, she threw him out the window, as  
  
far as she possibly could.Then, with trembling hands, she reached  
  
dangerously outside the window, grabbed   
  
ahold of the shutters, and closed them.   
  
Wordlessly, forcing one foot in front of the other, Marah made her  
  
way back to the sleeping Tobias. She collapsed on the ground  
  
beside him, not seeing theremains of the dead spydrs. She grabbed  
  
Tobias' hand. If his heart ever stoppedbeating, she would give him  
  
strength. Just enough strength.   
  
Still touching the boy's hand, Marah slipped into painless  
  
unconsciousness.   
  
{Oh, Mother,} Ariana moaned. {Oh, Mother.}   
  
* * * * *   
  
Ah ha! Rachel cried as she blew her fire at another harpy. The  
  
half vulture,half hag creature burst into flames and crashed to the  
  
ground, landing on agroup of Zilos' knights.   
  
Rachel was having a blast. Not so much because of the battle as  
  
much as the sheer dragon experiance. Her majestic wings filled the  
  
sky, lifting her tons of corded muscle as easily as a feather. Her  
  
hands were strong, agile, and deadly.And she could see just about  
  
anything. The invisible glowed. Her vision wassharp, though  
  
nothing compared to her eagle morph. And her periferal vision  
  
wasincredible, allowing her to see almost everywhere. Her hearing  
  
tuned out thehowling sound of miving wing and focused on  
  
animated movement. The dragoninstincts were calm, more fearless  
  
than the grizzly, and more cunning than thewolf.   
  
A huge bird made of fire flew straight towards her. Gracefully,  
  
Rachel snapped at it with her trapjaw mouth, biting into its chest.  
  
Her teeth passed throughthe fire, to the point where her eyes were  
  
just out of the flaming body. But her teeth did clamp onto  
  
something deep inside the fire.   
  
A blast of supercool air coming from a nearby ice dragon hit the  
  
firebird and her. The forming ice didn't hurt Rachel, but as she  
  
watched, the flames of thefirebird blew out.   
  
The firebird was nothing more than a blackened skeleton. A  
  
burned, animated skeleton half the size of the image the fire  
  
created. But even as Rachel watchedfrom the corner of her eyes,  
  
patches of the black bones turned white, growinghot.   
  
Rachel quickly snapped her jaws closed, crushing the skeleton in  
  
two. She watched it fall to the ground. The white patches dimmed,  
  
and the bird stoppedmoving.   
  
Something slammed into Rachel.   
  
Hey! she yelled as she turned her serpentine neck to see what hit  
  
her while she was distracted. It was another firebird, about the  
  
same size as the firstone. With the speed of a rattlesnake, Rachel  
  
snapped it in two, then watched it fall burning to the ground. It hit  
  
just as hard as the first bird, and stoppedmoving like the first bird,  
  
but something was wrong. The fire comtinued to burn.   
  
But then, off to one side of her, she saw a baalrog fly straight  
  
towards the pale blue ice dragon while he was busy fighting two  
  
others. Rachel turned awayfrom her doubts and flew towards her  
  
comrade's assistance.   
  
As the baalrog drew back his whip to attack the distracted dragon  
  
from behind, Rachel reached him. She spun in midair, hitting the  
  
demon full in the chest withher wing. She continued the rotation,  
  
sending the demon cartwheeling backwards,   
  
loosing control.   
  
Rachel turned back to the ice dragon. He had chased off the other  
  
two baalrogs. He grinned his gratitude, then plunged back into the  
  
battle.   
  
Rachel looked back down at the second firebird. It was still  
  
burning.   
  
Then it began to move. The broken pieces of it creeped together.  
  
The spine began to straighten, and the head began to lift. The fire  
  
filled out, once againbuilding the illusion of fiery flesh. The  
  
firebird stood, looked up at Rachel,and flew.   
  
Duh! Rachel exclaimed. The *phoenix* always rose. But  
  
then she looked backat the first phoenix. It still laid there, cold and  
  
dead.   
  
But why? she thought. She wasn't the thinking kind, but she still  
  
wanted to know what the difference was between the first phoenix  
  
and the second.   
  
The living phoenix reached Rachel then, distracting her. She easily  
  
pulled her head out of its flight path, but as it zoomed past her, she  
  
snapped at its hindlegs, catching it. The phoenix jerked to a stop  
  
and gawked back at her. Itflapped its wings like mad, but Rachel  
  
held on without anything remotelyresembling trouble.   
  
She saw another ice dragon fly nearby.   
  
Hey! Hey, you, she called. Yeah. You. Could you please put  
  
this bird's fire out? The dragon breathed in, then blew out,  
  
sending the freezing blast straightat the struggling bird. Its fire  
  
blew out, and Rachel once again tore it in two. This time, it didn't  
  
rise.   
  
"Congratulations, Rachel," a familiar voice said behind her head.  
  
"Ruthless and efficient, specializing in destruction. My favorite  
  
Animorph."   
  
Rachel spun her head around in shock and hate. She knew that  
  
voice.   
  
Drode!?!   
  
Drode sat happily on her back, snugly seated between her wings.  
  
He had a birdlike body, with two legs and a stubby tail, but with  
  
many-jointed, flimsy hands. His head was vaguely human in shape,  
  
with anarrow lower jaw and big, mocking, and intelligent eyes. He  
  
was wrinkled like a prune, and was so dark he was almost black.  
  
Green trimmed his eyes and mouth. Atfirst glance, Drode wasn't  
  
much, but he grinned at Rachel without a shread offear as she  
  
glared angerly at   
  
him.   
  
"Rachel, Rachel, Rachel," he said. "My favorite. Do you honestly  
  
think that it'll be this easy? Just give him time, and by the time you  
  
get back he'll be fit as afiddle?" Drode laughed. He leaned forward,  
  
as if he had a secret. "You're goingto loose him, Rachel. You're  
  
going to loose him soon."   
  
Without thinking, Rachel snapped at him.   
  
Ow! She recoiled sharply. An invisible electric field  
  
surrounding Drode quieted slowly.   
  
Drode clapped his limp hands. "Bravo, Rachel," he said. "I have  
  
always approved of your hostile, aggressive side. Unfortunately,  
  
that alone will not save your bird. Or maybe it will." He paused.  
  
"You know what you can do something to savehim Rachel.  
  
Something thatwill make Crayak happy. Happy enough that he will  
  
save Tobias personally."   
  
Rachel knew exactly what he was talking about. You can stuff  
  
your offer, shesnapped. Marah is--   
  
"*Was* taking care of Tobias." His laughing eyes twinkled. "She  
  
isn't anymore."   
  
Rachel swore. You did this! she yelled accusingly, hatred safely  
  
blinding her.Your Crayak is responsible for this! He's the one  
  
who put us here. He's the onewho gave David his power back and  
  
sent him after us. No way how I am ever going   
  
to do anything for Crayak. Ever! And with that, she barrelrolled,  
  
sending Drode in a freefall. Before he fell out of reach, Rachel  
  
swiped a clawed hand at him, ignoring the electrified force field.   
  
Drode vanished just as she hit his force field.   
  
Rachel stared at the spot where Drode disappeared. She felt eyes  
  
on her.   
  
She looked down on the battlefield and saw Jake. Jake was staring  
  
straight at her.   
  
Rachel turned away from him, hoping that not seeing him would  
  
help her keep Drode's foul offer out of her mind.   
  
Jake watched her for a second longer. Then he, too, turned back to  
  
the battle.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Cassie, Marco and Ax hurried up the winding stone stairs. The  
  
halls were surprisingly wide and tall, and the sound of their  
  
running feet reverberated offthe stone walls over and again. Ax  
  
was himself, since he was fast enough as is. Both Cassie and  
  
Marco stayed in their morphs.   
  
As Cassie flew through the hall, Ax ran up the stairs and Marco  
  
floated through the ceilings, a thump! thump! thumping sound  
  
followed. When they first heard it beneath theirfeet in the dungeon,  
  
they each decided it was best to just get out of there. Not even Ax  
  
opted to stay, since he had to warn Prince Jake. The heavy  
  
footstepspursued them, but they were outrunning it.   
  
We have Andre the Giant after us, Marco piped as he stuck his  
  
head down through the floors to watch Cassie and Axblow past.  
  
Maybe I can get hisautograph.Congratulate him on the excellant  
  
job on "Princess Bride."   
  
Autograph? Ax asked.   
  
I liked that movie, too, Cassie responded to Marco. But I don't  
  
want anyone'sautograph right now. Especially not from whatever is  
  
chasing us.   
  
Marco sighed wistfully. You'll never be a Rachel, he said sadly,  
  
then he pulled his head back through the ceiling.   
  
Cassie flew ahead of Ax. She flashed past a few chained doors. She  
  
glimpsed what was behind one.   
  
She pulled to a sudden stop and flashed back to the door. Like  
  
most doors in Zilos' underground, there was a small window  
  
carved through the door so shecould see inside. Her heart broke at  
  
what she saw.   
  
A unicorn. It was small and beautiful, with delicate hooves,  
  
sea-foam white fur, a snow white, shimmering mane, sea blue eyes,  
  
and with a small glow all around.It was easily the most beautiful  
  
thing Cassie had ever seen. It was tied to the wall by a black chain  
  
that was surprisingly long, and something round and a footin  
  
diameter wasstrapped to its back, but those were not the first things  
  
Cassie noticed.   
  
In place of a horn was a bloody gash. The unicorn whinnied in  
  
pain.   
  
No, Cassie muttered.   
  
She tried to open the door. It was unlocked, but it was barred.   
  
She started to demorph just as Ax caught up with her.   
  
Now would not be a fortunate time to stop, Cassie, he said  
  
simply.   
  
I'm going to free her, Cassie insisted, her light dimming. She  
  
was well on her way to becoming human. "Help me," she asked Ax  
  
as she made the transition.   
  
I must warn Prince Jake.   
  
"Of what?" Cassie interrupted, fully human. The sounds of  
  
footfalls slowly grew louder.   
  
Cassie looked around at the wide halls and decided she had enough  
  
room to morph to elemental. She was just beginning to change  
  
when Marco floated back down from the floor above.   
  
I didn't hear any pitter-patter of Ax-man's dainty toes, so--whoa  
  
Cassie! This is so *not* the time for a lunch break.   
  
Cassie didn't answer. Marco floated down to the floor and looked  
  
in through the door window.   
  
Marco narrowed his eyes at Cassie, who had stopped morphing.  
  
Nuh uh, Cassie, he said. We are so NOT here to save a white  
  
horse.   
  
"She's dying," Cassie argued.   
  
So are a lot of men outside, Marco shot back. Get it together,  
  
Earth Mother. We got Ax. Now let's just get out of here before  
  
Thunder Thighs catches up with us. We. Are. Not. Rescuing.  
  
Animals.   
  
"Why would Zilos have an animal in the first place?" Cassie  
  
reasoned. "He's using her power, Marco."   
  
Who cares? Oh, I forget. Tree-hugging Cassie does.   
  
Listening to his two friends argue, Ax looked at the unicorn. It was  
  
truely a magnificent creature, despite its...   
  
Ax saw the sphere chained to its back. All four of Ax's eyes turned  
  
to stare at it.   
  
"It's a *unicorn.* Maybe it can help Tobias. Heal him."   
  
I have no clue of what you're talkihng about. How can it help  
  
Tobias if it can't help itself? I certainly don't see it healing that  
  
scab.   
  
Marco? Cassie? Ax interrupted, not looking away from the  
  
sphere. I think we should get in there.   
  
Marco slapped his ghostly forehead and moaned. Never thought  
  
I'd see the day that Cassie would convert you. The sound of heavy  
  
footsteps was much louder. They sounded like approaching  
  
thunder.   
  
Convert me to what? You haven't noticed the proton-shift  
  
explosive device attached to the creature's back?   
  
Cassie and Marco stared at Ax.   
  
What? A what?!? A *nuke?!?*   
  
"You're kidding," Cassie gasped.   
  
Marco looked at the stunned expression on Cassie's face, then  
  
looked at Ax, who looked back with one stalk eye, then at the  
  
unicorn with the bomb strapped to its back.   
  
Oh, man. I hate this. He swore, then stuck his hand into the solid  
  
oak door and turned solid. Completely and totally solid.   
  
The door exploded. The sheer sound of it tore the air. Cassie was  
  
knocked off her feet from the force, and Ax staggered back. Marco  
  
was thrown across the hall. Wood shrapnel filled the air, nearly  
  
blinding Ax and Cassie. When they opened thier eyes again, the  
  
door was totally gone.   
  
As Ax recovered and hurried inside, Cassie heard an agonized  
  
groan behind her. Marco, semi-transparent again, was   
  
painfully laying on the floor with his back towards her. His legs  
  
were drawn up, and he seemed to be holding something close to his  
  
chest. Numbly, her nerves still razzelled and ears still ringing from  
  
the explosion, she crawled over to him. She looked over his  
  
shoulder and saw what he was holding on to so painfully.   
  
Marco was cradeling his arm, his bloodless, tear-streaked face tight  
  
from trying not to scream. Tears squeezed out from beneath his  
  
tightly shut eyes, and his mouth was sealed shut, holding back his  
  
cries. Where his hand should have been,   
  
there was nothing but a shattered stump. Cracks were drawn up his  
  
arm, ending at just below the elbow. Even as a ghost, a clear fluid  
  
poured out from the stump and the cracks like blood.   
  
Cassie heart contrasted, crying out in sheer sympathy. "Marco!"  
  
she shouted to him. "Demorph! Now!" To her relief, Marco's  
  
ghostly skin darkened.   
  
Trembling at what happened to Marco, but hopeful that he would  
  
pull out of the morph, Cassie looked back down the hall, where the  
  
giant's footsteps grew even louder, filling her ears.   
  
She knew what she had to do. She was starting to morph elemental  
  
when Ax's thought-speak yelled in her head.   
  
Cassie, I can't get to the explosive device! he reported loudly.   
  
Cassie winced from the shout, then turned to see what was the  
  
matter.   
  
The unicorn was the problem. Ax was trying to reach it so he could  
  
get to the bomb, but the unicorn was running away from him. The  
  
unicorn was just as fast as Ax was, and just as agile, and with the  
  
long leash it was given, Ax was running all over the room trying to  
  
catch it without using his tail. Every time he caught it, it tore out of  
  
his grasp again and continued zigzagging through the cold stone  
  
room.   
  
Go ahead, Marco said weakly, partially demorphed. I'll take  
  
care of whatsis down there.   
  
Cassie turned back to him just in time to see white bones shoot out  
  
from the shattered stump. She shuttered.   
  
Marco agreed. Yuck. Yuck yuck yu-- Just then he lost the power  
  
of thought-speak as he made the transition.   
  
Cassie ran to the room where Ax was chasing the elusive,  
  
frightened unicorn. Without a second thought, she walked towards  
  
the jumpy unicorn, trying to ignore the thunderous booms of  
  
something large running up the stairs.   
  
"Ax, wait," Cassie said to him as she approached. Ax, quivering  
  
with frustration, stopped in his tracks, deciding to let Cassie have a  
  
try at the stupid creature with the bomb on its back. The  
  
shimmering unicorn, seeing that Ax had stopped trying to touch it,  
  
also slowed to a stop, still keeping an eye on him.   
  
The floor beneath them gradually began to shake. The giant was  
  
very close. Cassie looked back at Marco, and was relieved to find  
  
huge, black bat wings sproating from his shoulderblades. He was  
  
morphing as fast as he could, knowing even more than Cassie  
  
knew that he had to delay the monster until Ax could defuse the  
  
bomb, and that every second may be vital.   
  
Cassie smiled at Marco's lightning quick thinking, then turned back  
  
to the unicorn. She still had to comfort the animal before Ax could  
  
get to the bomb.   
  
She slowly walked up to the beautiful unicorn, who kept watching  
  
Ax suspiciously. It did not even seem aware of Cassie's presense  
  
until Cassie was close enough to touch it.   
  
As Cassie reached out with one comforting hand to sooth the  
  
creature, the unicorn turned its head and looked directly at Cassie.  
  
Cassie looked back, and immediately froze.   
  
The castle still shook with every step of the yet unseen giant. Ax  
  
still waited impatiently on the other side of the room, eagar to get  
  
to the bomb. Marco still morphed, and was now shooting from the  
  
floor to full demon size, but Cassie couldn't pay attention to her  
  
surroundings, much less move. Tears sprang to her eyes as she  
  
looked into the unicorn's eternal eye, and saw innocence, wisdom,  
  
joy, peace, and purity in them.   
  
Cassie slowly stroked the creature as the unicorn calmed down,  
  
who was not afraid of her.   
  
Ax, seeing this as his oportunity, calmly walked up to them. The  
  
unicorn, seeing him, hurried to the other side of Cassie.   
  
Acquire it, Cassie, Ax instructed when he saw the stubborn  
  
unicorn shy away from him. I have to get the explosive device.  
  
Cassie nodded, patted the shimmering unicorn, and began to  
  
acquire it. Almost to Cassie's disappointment, the unicorn acted  
  
just like most other animals. It became calm and lax.   
  
Ax jumped forward eagarly and started to study the bomb. The  
  
unicorn didn't even flintch.   
  
Boom! The castle shook so badly Cassie almost broke her  
  
concentration. She looked out to the hall and saw a Baalrog  
  
fighting a huge black monitaur-like thing welding an ax. A Gallu.   
  
Nervously, Cassie turned back to Ax and tried to focus on his  
  
work. She saw the globe flip open and Ax's many-fingered hands  
  
reaching inside. She watched anxiously, but continued to acquire  
  
the unicorn so it would not panic.   
  
A few long seconds later, Ax said in calm relief, The explosive  
  
devise is deactivated. He cut the cords that bound the bomb to the  
  
unicorn and set it down. Then, almost absentmindedly, Ax severed  
  
the cords binding the unicorn to the wall.   
  
The unicorn, somehow sensing its freedom, broke out of the trance  
  
Cassie put it in, pushed past her, and bolted out of the hole that was  
  
once a door. Cassie shot Ax a look of sheer gratitude.   
  
Oh, sure, Marco complained loudly. He sounded strained and  
  
jumpy, though he obviously tried to cover it. Forget all about poor  
  
ol' Marco.   
  
We are coming, Marco, Ax called. He limbered up his tail for a  
  
second, then blew out of the doorway.   
  
* * * * *   
  
The battle outside the castle of Levakh was not going well. Men  
  
were dying, and even though the dragons won their battle in the air  
  
and had started to aid their allies on the ground, Themis and his  
  
army were being pushed back by the giants and various monsters.  
  
Lecrian and Jake were soon separated from King Themis, and then  
  
Lecrian somehow lost sight of Jake.   
  
Lecrian ducked a beam of light aimed for his back. He spun around  
  
and charged viciously at the basilisk that tried to ambush him. He  
  
quickly slid his enchanted sword in its chest, and it died.   
  
Lecrian quickly pulled his sword out of the heavy, limp body and  
  
looked around fearfully, but no enemies were aiming for him at the  
  
moment.   
  
'Oh man,' he thought, as he pushed the images that surrounded his  
  
vision back. His foresight saved him from the basilisk, warning  
  
him of its actions, but that was all he was grateful for. It took away  
  
his periferal vision, and what the images showed him were  
  
disturbing.   
  
A spydr was attacking his mother. His father was becoming  
  
desprite enough to use his power. Marco's hand was destroyed.  
  
Rachel was avoiding someone. His brothers were hard-pressed,  
  
fighting back to back against a pack of bug bears. The images  
  
showed him all of this, and none of it was helping him.   
  
Pushing back the images that were trying to flood his vision,  
  
Lecrian did not see the archer aim at him. He did not see the  
  
poison-tipped arrow fly towards his back.   
  
He felt the arrow hit him. The blackness consumed him before he  
  
hit the ground. 


	5. Part 5

Eran stood over his fallen prince, hot tears of rage standing in his  
  
eyes. His shield blocked the archer's arrows and anything else's  
  
attacks, and his sword swung repeatedly at the monsters  
  
surrounding him and Lecrian.   
  
Beneath him, no longer conscious, Lecrian finally succombed to  
  
the visions.   
  
~~~   
  
"And let me assure you your friends don't want to get killed either,"  
  
Marco said with a laugh. He and Cassie stood alone on a stonelike  
  
balcony overlooking a huge, empty, stonelike hole in the ground.  
  
"I'm completely opposed to getting killed."   
  
As Lecrian watched, he saw that something was wrong. Cassie  
  
looked worried and lost. Their friends were not there. The lawn  
  
was not taken care of, the trees were bare, and no birds sang.   
  
Marco grew uncharacteristically serious. It was the kind of serious  
  
that was actually sad. Melancholy.   
  
"But you know what?" he continued sadly. "Sometimes bad things  
  
happen. That's the way it is."   
  
The subtily heartwrentching scene slowly disappeared in thick  
  
mist. As Marco and Cassie faded away, Lecrian heard someone  
  
starting to cry.   
  
"Your cousin's life is your passport to salvation in the arms of  
  
Crayak," a nasty voice whispered in the blinding fog.   
  
And someone continued to cry.   
  
In the corner of Lecrian's eye, he saw each of the Animorphs  
  
together. He turned to see what was happening.   
  
Jake nodded to something someone said. "No choice. Too much  
  
hangs on this. Millions of lives versus one? Not even a question."   
  
"Bull," Marco said angerly. "This isn't our fight. We sit this one  
  
out."   
  
The scene blurred and shifted. The Animorphs were still there, but  
  
in different positions.   
  
"One?" Marco asked.   
  
"One," Jake confirmed.   
  
"Well, then Visser Four is my meat." Marco grinned to Jake, then  
  
turned away.   
  
The smile disappeared when he was sure Jake couldn't see. He  
  
looked as if he was about to cry.   
  
Then he looked at Cassie. Cassie looked defeated, but she walked  
  
up to Marco and leaned in close. She whispered:   
  
"Crayak is *not* going to have him."   
  
Marco nodded. Lecrian looked at Jake and felt a chill crawl down  
  
his back.   
  
The dooming scene vanished in the mist. Slowly, another scene  
  
replaced it. Rachel and the hawk Tobias stood in a foreign room,  
  
Tobias on a dresser and Rachel before him. The same weeping  
  
voice continued to cry, but it quieted, almost as if the owner was  
  
running out of tears.   
  
"One more change, Tobias," she said to him. "Back to human.  
  
You'd be free of this stupid war and free of all of the danger of  
  
living as a hawk."   
  
Unreadable Tobias didn't answer.   
  
"I wouldn't have to worry about you anymore."   
  
~~~   
  
Marco was not having fun.   
  
He was a giant demon, with red skin, black bat wings, corded  
  
muscles all over, rams horns, wicked fangs, and a fire whip. He  
  
was a Baalrog, one of the more powerful demons, and usually lord  
  
over any Gallu. But he was at a disadvantage. The black skinned,  
  
red-eyed, monitaur-like lesser demon was smaller than he was, and  
  
it welded a battle-ax, which was built for close-range combat.  
  
Marco could barely fit in the hall with his massive wings, and his  
  
fire whip was no good in close-up combat.   
  
Marco dropped his whip, and it dissipitated before it hit the stone  
  
floor. At least he'd have both hands free, and fire never hurts  
  
demons, anyway.   
  
You wanna throw down, shorty? he taunted the Gallu. I'll  
  
throw down. I'll kick yo' bee-hind from here to Hades.   
  
* * * * *   
  
The Gallu swung the huge ax at Marco's neck. Marco awkwardly  
  
jumped ducked under it, then plowed at it, trying to knock it down,  
  
or at least knock it back.   
  
It easily stepped back from Marco and swung the ax straight down.   
  
AAAHHH!!! Marco reached up with both hands instinctively  
  
and grabbed the ax as it fell, stopping it just inches from his head.  
  
The Gallu yanked the ax back, but Marco held on.   
  
The Gallu jerked. And jerked and jerked and jerked.   
  
AAAAHHHH!!! Marco yelled as he was jerked back and forth.  
  
Finally, his hands loosened and he let go. The Gallu stumbled back  
  
into the back wall. Its eyes glowed with an angry fire, then it  
  
attacked Marco ferociously.   
  
Wow! AAAHHH! Cool it, man! Marco hollared to the demon as  
  
he jumped awkwardly back from the wild swings of the Gallu, his  
  
wings slowing him down and scraping the walls to either side of  
  
the corridor.   
  
The Gallu forced Marco back past the blasted door. Out of the  
  
corner of his eye, Marco saw a shimmer of pure white dart from  
  
the cell where Ax was working on the bomb. The unicorn. The  
  
white unicorn ran towards the oppocite side of the   
  
corridor, running back to where the Gallu came from.   
  
Oh, sure, Marco complained to Cassie and Ax as he jumped  
  
back some more from the blizzard of blade called an angry demon's  
  
ax. Forget all about poor ol' Marco. Then he heard Ax say  
  
something, but Marco was no longer paying attention   
  
to him.   
  
He felt his wings touch the very back wall. He couldn't back up any  
  
more.   
  
Behind the Gallu, Marco saw Ax shoot out of the cell.   
  
The Gallu, unaware of everything except its hatred of Marco,  
  
hacked again. Marco carefully deflected it, then pushed the Gallu  
  
in the chest as hard as he could. The Gallu fell and dropped its ax.  
  
Eyes burning, the demon kicked Marco hard in   
  
the stomach, then reached for the ax.   
  
Suddenly, Ax was there. The demon didn't even see the bullwhip  
  
slash that cut its throat.   
  
Marco. Are you well? Ax asked calmly when he made sure that  
  
the demon was dead.   
  
Marco, doubled over in pain from the kick, mumbled, Fine?  
  
Fine? Of course I'm fine. Couldn't be better.   
  
Ax was silent for a while. I believe that you were being  
  
sarcastic?   
  
Oh, yeah, Marco said as he began to demorph. Never felt better  
  
in my whole blessed life as an Animorph. Then he looked at the  
  
dead demon. Thanks, man.   
  
You're welcome.   
  
Then Cassie approached them, with the unicorn following. "Glad  
  
you're alright, Marco," she said as she reached for the door. As  
  
soon as she pulled it open, the unicorn ran through, and from there,  
  
found a way out of the castle.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Outside, the war still raged. King Themis' grey cloud still hung  
  
overhead, waiting. Nothing but dragons flew, and those dragons  
  
were fighting the various giants in Zilos' army on the ground. But  
  
nothing was going right for King Themis and the Dragon King.  
  
Zilos' army was unnaturally strong, so much so that the giants were  
  
beating back the dragons, and the smaller monsters were pushing  
  
back King Themis and his soldiers.   
  
And Jake, Lecrian, Herlim, Crimber and Eran were still missing,  
  
separated from the rest of Themis' army.   
  
Jake ran frantically through the surging armies of monsters and  
  
humans, ignored by both. The humans because they knew he was  
  
Jake, and the monsters because he was a werewolf and, therefore,  
  
one of them.   
  
Lecrian! Where are you? he called. He had been separated from  
  
him, and knew that Lecrian couldn't last long. He could catch  
  
Lecrian's scent, but it was faint, and there were so many other  
  
smells all around him, masking it.   
  
A black clad knight with a purple-flaming sword attacked one of  
  
Themis' soldiers from behind. Immediately, Jake pounced on the  
  
knight, knocking him down. Then he continued running through  
  
the battlefield, following Lecrian's faint trail.   
  
As he blew past another werewolf, he thought about his friends. He  
  
thought about Tobias in his bed, safe. Rachel, in the battle but as a  
  
dragon, was not safe, yet not in real danger. But what about Cassie,  
  
and Marco and Ax?   
  
He hoped they were safe. Looking around at the carnage and  
  
bloody confusion and fear all around him, he was glad they were  
  
not out there with him.   
  
Lecrian! he called again. No answer.   
  
Suddenly, he saw Eran. He was dressed in black armor, but didn't  
  
wear a helmet. There was a nasty looking gash along one side of  
  
his head and his usually tan skin was a shade paler, but he  
  
otherwise looked healthy. His sword looked had symbols carved all  
  
along the blade length, and he held it in front of him with both  
  
hands, his eyes ablaze with battlerage. He was in a clearing, with  
  
dead and dying monsters laying around him, and with broken  
  
arrow shafts laying like tinder. His shield was shattered, and his  
  
helmet lay several feet away. Beneath Eran was a body with an  
  
arrow sticking from his back.   
  
Lecrian's scent was strong here. Very strong, and coming from the  
  
clearing where Eran stood his ground, guarding the body.   
  
Only a huge, bulky, grey-skinned humanoid with black eyes and  
  
long claws stood between Jake and Eran, with its back to Jake.   
  
It made the mistake of attacking Eran.   
  
As it stepped forward greedily, Jake tore out the hamstring muscles  
  
in the back of one of its legs. The leg gave out, and the creature fell  
  
forward. As it hit the ground, Eran immediately swung his sword  
  
in a deadly arch, severing the head from the body.   
  
Jake moved a little closer, looked at the body and froze. It was  
  
Lecrian.   
  
Eran quickly whipped the sword, aiming at Jake.   
  
Jake stopped. It's me, Eran, he said. Jake.   
  
Eran still looked skeptical. His eyes were red and hard, and his  
  
cheeks were wet. He still didn't lower the sword. "How do I know  
  
that?" he asked.   
  
I'm thought-speaking. And don't you recognize my morph?   
  
"All wargs can speak with their thoughts," he replied, "and I've  
  
never seen that morph. But..." He turned the sword away from Jake  
  
and to the other monsters, all of whome only stayed away because  
  
Jake, a warg, was there, and had apparently layed claim to his prey.  
  
Most of them moved on, looking for other prey.   
  
"Wargs do not call it thought-speech," he explained out loud, "and  
  
only the Animorphs have used the word 'morph,' and I finally  
  
recognize your voice, Jake. Please," he plead, his hard voice  
  
quivering slightly, "help me guard my Prince. I am not going to  
  
leave him to these," he waved his sword at the monsters.   
  
Jake slinked up to him, his hand/paws supporting his weight just as  
  
much as his back legs. He could smell blood, steel, and sweat, and  
  
could hear three heartbeats in the clearing, as well as screams,  
  
thuds, slashes, growls, and movement all around him.   
  
Three? But there was only himself, Eran, and...   
  
Jake suddenly looked closer at Lecrian. His was the third heartbeat,  
  
and he was still breathing.   
  
He's alive! Jake exclaimed.   
  
"He is?" Eran asked incredulously. He dared a glance back and  
  
down, still keeping an eye on his enemies. "He is!" he cried happily  
  
as he saw the slight rise and fall in Lecrian's back.   
  
We need to get him out of here. Now.   
  
Outside the clearing, watching the two from the shadows of his  
  
fellow soldiers, lurked a true werewolf. He was an old one, with  
  
gizzled fur and cunning, malicious eyes, and yellowed fangs and  
  
dulled claws. He watched the exchange between the human and the  
  
younger, tantilizingly familiar warg. His yellow, already narrow  
  
eyes narrowed into slits.   
  
{Attack,} he softly told a nearby kelpie and manticore in the  
  
language of the beasts. {Attack the humans. Both are alive. The  
  
warg is a traitor, and is mine.}   
  
The kelpie, a creature with a horse-like head and humanish body,  
  
grinned widely, showing its glistening teeth. The manticore, a huge  
  
lion with an even longer, tail that ends in a poisoned, spiked ball,  
  
growled gleefully. Both of them respected the warg, as most  
  
creatures do.   
  
The kelpie moved to the right as the warg moved to the left and the  
  
manticore moved straight towards Jake, Eran, and Lecrian.   
  
Eran sheathed his sword, then bent down to his best friend.  
  
Gingerly, be broke the arrow shaft near the skin, then picked  
  
Lecrian up with surprising gentleness. He looked back in time to  
  
see the warg, the kelpie, and the manticore split up.   
  
Go! Jake barked. I'll watch your back.   
  
Jake ran alongside Eran, teeth bared. Most of the monsters stayed  
  
away from Eran when they saw that Jake, a warg, had "claimed"  
  
him for his own. The few that tried to attack Eran and Lecrian soon  
  
missed a leg.   
  
Jake looked bahind him as he plunged behind Eran. The manticore  
  
was chasing them, spiked tail poised to strike. It was quickly  
  
gaining, despite its size.   
  
Dodge if anything attacks you, he told Eran. The knight nodded,  
  
understanding that Jake would be too busy to help him.   
  
Jake spun around. In a blink of an eye, he pounced on the  
  
manticore. He grabbed onto its shoulder and bit in. Ignoring the  
  
pain, the manticore struck Jake with its tail. Jake fell off, poisoned,  
  
but he immediately bounced back up and attacked again.   
  
The manticore struck, but Jake was ready. He dodged right, then  
  
leaped for the closest leg. Before the manticore realized it, two of  
  
its legs were torn, their ligaments severed.   
  
Jake left the crippled, eerily silent manticore and ran back to Eran.  
  
Eran had placed Lecrian down on the ground and had drawn his  
  
sword, not being able to run with all of the monsters attacking him.   
  
Jake leaped passed a kelpie, landing next to Eran. He growled and  
  
snapped at the monsters, keeping them at bay.   
  
Go on! he yelled at Eran. Keep going. Eran promptly  
  
sheathed his sword and gently scooped Lecrian up. Breathing hard,  
  
he ran, with Jake protectively close and forever on alert.   
  
Far in the distance, Jake could see a silver splash of color slowly  
  
rise from the ground. The silver flag bore a red dragon enveloped  
  
in a glorious red sun, and in the heart of the red dragon pranced a  
  
silver unicorn.   
  
Hey! Isn't that King Themis' banner? Jake asked Eran, who was  
  
dripping sweat and breathing harshly, the arms holding his friend  
  
trembling. Eran wearily lifted his eyes and looked.   
  
"Yes," he gasped in exhaustion and relief. "That's him. We're  
  
almost there."   
  
The kelpie that Jake had cut off slunk beside them, hidden by the  
  
numerous bodies of humans fighting monsters and other humans. It  
  
was waiting. Waiting for the right time.   
  
The werewolf crept on the other side of Jake and Eran, keeping the  
  
kelpie in sight. Watching the traitor warg, it had the nervous  
  
feeling that he should know this warg.   
  
Shaking off the feeling, the grizzled warg looked at the kelpie  
  
directly in the eye.   
  
{Now. Before they reach the human king.}   
  
The kelpie grinned. Both it and the warg moved in for the kill.   
  
The banner was much closer, Jake noticed. Almost within  
  
thought-speech range.   
  
Almost there, he urged Eran. Just a little--   
  
The kelpie leaped in front of Eran just as the warg leaped into Jake,  
  
knocking him over. The warg landed on top of Jake, pinning him  
  
down with his paws/hands.   
  
Eran, unaware that Jake wasn't there, didn't try to avoid the kelpie  
  
until the last second. Not seeing Jake leap on the kelpie, he deftly  
  
danced to one side.   
  
He wasn't quick enough. The kelpie slashed at him with its claws.  
  
The force of the blow spun Eran around.   
  
Eran! Jake suddenly rolled to one side, slipping out of the warg's  
  
grasp.   
  
Jake growled a warning at the werewolf, but the werewolf didn't  
  
back down. The werewolf in Jake weakened and began to  
  
whimper, wanting to submit to the elder. It was afraid, and its fear  
  
was beginning to get to Jake.   
  
Jake looked past the werewolf to check on Eran. The knight had set  
  
Lecrian down and drew his sword, his   
  
armor torn.   
  
{Traitor.}   
  
Jake stared back at the werewolf. Understanding slowly dawned on  
  
him: the werewolf thought he was a real wolf.   
  
Yes. Your fight is with me. Leave the humans out of this.   
  
The werewolf was silent for a moment.   
  
{You speak in a human's voice.}   
  
Jake didn't answer. Instead he slowly moved to one side, trying to  
  
get around the werewolf and closer to Eran.   
  
Jake did not get far before the werewolf's eyes widened in shocked  
  
recognition.   
  
{Warag? No ... You were sent to Hivena castle and never came  
  
back. The children ... were ... there...} The ancient warg's eyes  
  
narrowed in rage, his shock gone.   
  
{Human! You are one of those human children. The ones who  
  
claim the bodies of their victims as their own.}   
  
What?!?' Jake thought. The rumors had spread tremendously.   
  
{And now, you've ... you've...} the raging werewolf, unable to find  
  
the right words, attacked.   
  
Jake shot sideways, just barely avoiding the werewolf. Ahead of  
  
him, Jake saw that Eran was in trouble. Swinging his sword every  
  
which way, he was fending off not only the kelpie, but also several  
  
other, smaller monsters. One of those smaller monsters was an eye  
  
killer, a strange two limbed, hawk-headed, snake-bodied creature.  
  
Eran was studiously avoiding eye contact with it, while still  
  
keeping the others at bay.   
  
The eye killer snapped its long, snakelike tail at Eran's sword,  
  
entangling it like a whip. The kelpie eagerly snuck behind Eran,  
  
preparing to attack from the knight's blind side. It crouched, ready  
  
to spring.   
  
Eran! Behind you! Jake yelled. He bunched up and leaped  
  
forward at the treacherous kelpie.   
  
Something snapped down on Jake's ankle as he flew forward. Jake  
  
was stopped suddenly, and his ankle snapped. The werewolf,  
  
which had bitten Jake in midair, jerked him back, crushing the  
  
fractured bone. The ancient warg released Jake once he landed hard  
  
on the ground, then sprang at Jake's throat, jaws open wide.   
  
Jake lifted his arms and caught the older werewolf by the shoulders  
  
just before the warg reached his neck, then shoved it off. He rolled  
  
to his feet, but   
  
Ahh! He quickly took the weight off his injured ankle.   
  
His ankle was not healing. It was not mending at all.   
  
At the same time that Jake's ankle shattered, Eran had jerked his  
  
sword out of the eye killer's grasp, severing it in two in the process.  
  
In the same motion, he spun around and sliced the kelpie in half as  
  
it leaped at him. He looked at Jake, standing on three feet as he  
  
faced the older warg.   
  
"Jake!" he yelled. "Wargs and magic weapons can hurt you. And --  
  
Uph!" He was cut short as another small monster leaped on his  
  
back, knocking him down.   
  
The older warg leaped at Jake again, knocking him aside. Jake  
  
rolled with the blow, trying not to scream in pain as his limp ankle  
  
flailed around.   
  
The warg stood between him and Eran, growling menacingly at  
  
Jake. It glared at Jake, waiting for him to make the first move. Jake  
  
stood still, trying to figure out what to do.   
  
Suddenly, his shattered ankle began to itch. Jake gingerly set it  
  
down, keeping his eyes focused on the werewolf, to find that the  
  
weak bones were strengthening. He was mending, but very, very  
  
slowly.   
  
Way too slow. If it was a mortal wound, he would've died.   
  
The warg saw Jake set the foot down and grinned a wolfish grin.  
  
Still, it waited. Behind him, Eran was hard-pressed with keeping  
  
the creatures from killing himself or the unconscious prince.   
  
Jake made up his mind. He darted to the left of the werewolf. It  
  
moved to block his way. Lightning quick, Jake immediately  
  
changed direction and leaped, his ankle surprisingly strong enough  
  
to support the weight.   
  
As he sailed over, something tore his belly. Red hot daggers of  
  
pain seared him, blinding him. He landed in a limp heap close to  
  
Eran, hurting too much to even scream.   
  
He's been gutted. The grizzled, ancient werewolf gutted him in  
  
midair, even after falling for Jake's simple faint.   
  
As him mind began to shut down, he understood why the werewolf  
  
mind was afraid of the greying warg. Wargs, like dragons, grow  
  
stronger with age. Faster. More cunning. More powerful.   
  
He never had a chance.   
  
The triumphant, vengeful warg, seeing the fake warg helpless,  
  
charged forward. It paused for a brief moment above the  
  
semi-conscious warg.   
  
{Bye, human,} it said as it opened its jaws, aiming for Jake's throat  
  
and ignoring all else.   
  
"Grrraaawwwwww!!!!!" it screamed as something bit into its  
  
exposed back. The sharp blade slid past the thick fur and skin, past  
  
the corded muscles, and through a lung and a rib. The warg  
  
crumpled, freeing itself from Eran's sword. Blood flowed freely  
  
from the deep wound, wetting the dirt next to the still moving Jake  
  
and filling its lung. It backed away, preparing itself to retaliate  
  
against the foolish human.   
  
As it looked into the fierce eyes and bloody sword of the black-clad  
  
knight, the warg realized that it was not healing. It looked at the  
  
sword in Eran's hands and saw the deeply etched writing on the  
  
blade. Suddenly, it felt cold. Very, very cold.   
  
{No,} it moaned as it slunk away, beaten and dying. {A rune  
  
sword. How could I have missed a rune sword?}   
  
The warg disappeared among the masses of monsters. Neither Eran  
  
or Jake saw it   
  
again.   
  
"Jake! Turn back!" Eran cried as he shuffled back to defend  
  
Lecrian, who had still not recovered from the poisoned arrow. With  
  
the warg gone, Jake was relatively safe, but Lecrian was definitely  
  
not, and a horde of goblins have come to replaced the warg and  
  
other monsters. "Back to human! Jake..." he searched his mind for  
  
the word. "... Demorph? Yes! Demorph!!! Demorph now, Jake."  
  
Much to his relief, Jake's dark fur slowly shortened   
  
Hearing a stealthy sound behind him, Eran spun around and  
  
slashed at the goblin that tried to sneak up on Lecrian. The lithe  
  
creature jumped back, unscathed. Beyond the goblin, maybe by  
  
about a hundred yards, King Themis's banners snapped in the  
  
growing wind.   
  
Jake, still demorphing, crawled painfully towards Eran. Hopefully,  
  
it would make guarding him and Lecrian a lot easier for Eran until  
  
Jake could morph again. But he was tired, and the thought of  
  
morphing again made him wince.   
  
Eran was not doing much better. He nimbly danced around Lecrian  
  
and Jake, fighting off the goblins with apparent ease, but he was  
  
tired, nearly exhausted. He had been fighting for a long time.   
  
Underneath Eran, the soil began to dampen.   
  
"Eh?" Eran looked down when his feet started to slide out from  
  
under him. As he watched, the ground became muddy, then boggy.  
  
The goblins, eyeing the watery spot, stayed away from Eran and  
  
crept towards the mostly demorphed Jake and vulnerable Lecrian.   
  
"What the..." he exclaimed as his feet sank in.   
  
A small pool of water formed around his sunken feet, and began to  
  
bubble.   
  
"Oh, no."   
  
And the water exploded like a geyser. Eran, the treacherous bog  
  
underneath him refusing to let him go, was jerked up and stretched  
  
taunt by the endless flow of bubbling water. His sword tore from  
  
his grip, and water forced itself into his mouth and down his throat.   
  
His feet tore free of the clinging bog. He shot through the torrent  
  
straight up, but before he could shoot clear the water direction  
  
curved and began to swirl, like a water spout without an eye,  
  
holding Eran in the center. Eran struggled and thrashed, trying to  
  
get free. Slowly, his struggling slowed, then came to a halt.   
  
Jake looked in horror at Eran trapped inside the water elemental.  
  
The goblins surrounding the now human Jake cheered, then closed  
  
in on him and Lecrian.   
  
CCRRRRAACKKKKKKK   
  
A blue-white spear of lightning shot from King Themis's grey  
  
cloud, striking the ground between Jake and Eran. It lingered,  
  
allowing individual forks to branch from it, striking the malicious  
  
water elemental and the goblins. The goblins screamed and  
  
convulsed, no longer interested in Jake. The lightning danced  
  
through the water elemental, evaporating the water and caressing  
  
Eran without harming him. The elemental twitched, then retreated  
  
back into the safe ground, leaving Eran and his rune sword behind.  
  
Only Jake was left on the small patch of battle field.   
  
The lightning spear widened, shining so bright that Jake couldn't  
  
look at it. The column of lightning expanded and shortened,  
  
disconnecting itself from the cloud and encompassing Jake, Eran,  
  
Lecrian, and evaporating dead creature in its   
  
range. The lightning walls thinned and began to spin. Soon, the  
  
lightning spear was a spinning, lightning dome, shielding Jake,  
  
Eran, and Lecrian from the rest of the battle.   
  
Jake crawled over to Eran. He wasn't breathing, but his pulse was  
  
strong.   
  
"Eran? Hear me, man? Hold on, buddy," and Jake began to do  
  
CPR.   
  
"No," someone moaned. "Please, no." Alarmed, Jake twisted  
  
around to see who could have possibly survived the lightning storm  
  
surrounding him and the other two.   
  
King Themis stood there, Herlim and Crimber flanking him. The  
  
King's tired eyes rested on his eldest son, lying as if he was dead.  
  
Lecrian's skin was ashen, and a black spot extended up his neck  
  
near the wound from the arrow.   
  
"He's not dead, Themis," Jake said, trying to comfort the King.  
  
"He's poisoned, but still he's still alive." Jake immediately went  
  
back to doing CPR on Eran, hoping to not loose him.   
  
Themis's shoulders relaxed. "Thank Rurga," he whispered as he  
  
knelt by his stricken son, muttering a spell under his breath.  
  
Immediately, the greyness in Lecrian's face faded away, replaced  
  
by a healthier color. Herlim and Crimber   
  
relaxed and smiled. Herlim knelt by his brother, placing a hand on  
  
his shoulder. Crimber looked over to Jake, then anxiously hurried  
  
to him and Eran.   
  
Just as he got there, Eran coughed up water. Jerking his body to the  
  
side, water poured out from his gaging, hacking, coughing mouth.  
  
Once he finished his coughing fit, he laid back, too weary to even  
  
open his eyes. He panted, trying to catch his breath.   
  
Themis and Herlim helped Lecrian over to Eran. Lecrian especially  
  
looked down sadly at his friend.   
  
"Eran?" he asked. "Are you alright?"   
  
The knight stopped panting. His eyes popped open, and he looked  
  
up at his king, the princes, and his best friend, and smiled.   
  
"I am glad to see that you are still with us," King Themis said  
  
warmly. Then his turned grim. "Unfortunately, none of us will be  
  
here for long, it seems. We have been surrounded." Jake and Eran  
  
stared at him in disbelief. Lecrian nodded, already knowing this. "I  
  
do not know how Zilos can conjure up so many monsters, much  
  
less control them, but his army is actually growing. It is so large  
  
now that it flanks us on all sides." He sighed. "Unless something  
  
miraculous is done, we will not see the sun set."   
  
Jake became thoughtful. His brows furrowed, trying to see a way  
  
out. His eyes abruptly widened, and he shook his head slightly.   
  
"None of the animals from my world exist here, right?" he asked.   
  
"True," Lecrian answered. "Is there something from your world  
  
that can help us?"   
  
"Maybe. The idea bouncing around in my head is totally ridiculous,  
  
but it just might work."   
  
* * * * *   
  
"Let's play a game: 101 ways to commit Animorph kamikaze."  
  
Marco laughed. "But, hey! Since it's my idea the only sane,  
  
humble, handsome, debonair, sensible, charming one here, coming  
  
up with this totally insane idea why not?"   
  
Cassie smiled tolerantly, Marco's joking easing some of the thick  
  
tension in the air.   
  
Cassie, Marco, and Ax stood atop the castle walls, looking over the  
  
battle below. They watched as Themis' forces were surrounded by  
  
the various monsters, and as the dragons driven back by the endless  
  
army of giants. Themis' army gathered around a lightning dome,  
  
and the dragons mostly flew overhead, trying to help their allies.  
  
More importantly, they noticed that many of the monsters were  
  
streaming out of the castle gate beneath them.   
  
She looked sadly at the lightning dome that shielded King Themis.  
  
"Looks kinda grim, doesn't it."   
  
"Hey! Stop trying to destroy the light-hearted atmosphere I'm  
  
trying to create here." But his eyes softened a little. "You know  
  
what to do, Cassie?"   
  
She nodded, an extra pair of arms already sprouting underneath her  
  
own arms.   
  
"Just be sure to be clear when I go elemental."   
  
"Mental? Cassie's going *mental?*"   
  
Soon, she was glowing like the noonday sun, and she streaked back  
  
to the insides of the castle and its dungeons.   
  
Marco in turn grew incredibly huge, becoming a baalrog. Ax  
  
turned invisible and expanded, losing his solidity and becoming an  
  
air elemental.   
  
Marco opened his mouth to say something when Ax interrupted  
  
him.   
  
Let's do it.   
  
Marco smiled at the foggy wisp that was the only sign of Ax's  
  
presence. Took the words right out of my mouth,  
  
Rachel-wannabe.   
  
* * * * *   
  
A young man stood in the middle of the court, surrounded on every  
  
side by his towering castle walls. He had icy blue eyes and light  
  
brown hair, and his colorful robes billowed around him in the  
  
wall-trapped wind. Around his feet were black, red, and white  
  
arcane symbols, all drawn inside a bright red, quartered ring. Each  
  
quarter of the circle held a small trinket: a bag of gold, a dragon's  
  
tooth, a candle, and a crucible. With the exception of the crucible,  
  
each item had a flickering tongue of flame on it. Between his feet  
  
stood a small hourglass.   
  
Zilos closely inspected the circle. Satisfied, he pulled out a glowing  
  
silver-white unicorn's horn from his robes. He lifted it above his  
  
head, and the horn seemed to catch white fire. The wind picked up  
  
and swirled around him. A baalrog flew overhead, watching out for  
  
him.   
  
He glared at the darkening cloud that covered the whole sky. It was  
  
Themis' cloud, a warning of what Themis was willing to do to  
  
bring him to justice,' the arrogant hypocrite.   
  
Zilos closed his eyes, letting the supreme power build in him.   
  
"Zominik estdighis vallillio stras," the summoner chanted,  
  
lowering the horn until it pointed at an empty spot a few meters  
  
away. He opened his eyes and looked at the spot with a stone hard  
  
gaze.   
  
"Xilie!" he barked. Sheer power flowed from him and through the  
  
horn. Light shot from it, striking the ground. The light began to eat  
  
through the ground, flickering tendrils of fiery smoke rising.   
  
Far, far away to the east, a tremendous pillar of fire began to move  
  
towards the west. It rose from the blackened ground in a swirl and  
  
flew to the west.   
  
Zilos, still holding the ray of light in place, grinned as he saw a ball  
  
of fire streak through the air straight towards him. The fireball, as  
  
big as the court yard itself, stopped its flight above the castle,  
  
above him. Only then did the ray of light stop streaming. The  
  
baalrog was engulfed in the wheel of fire when it flew in, and it  
  
finally flew out from it, watching the fire that blocked out even  
  
Themis' cloud from view.   
  
Holding the ever luminous unicorn horn up, Zilos bent down,  
  
turned the hourglass over, and grabbed the lit candle.   
  
"Come to me, fire elemental!" Zilos commanded it. He tipped the  
  
candle into the empty crucible, and with shocking suddenness the  
  
inside of the crucible caught fire, as if it was filled to the brim with  
  
oil. He lifted the burning crucible over his head.   
  
"Come!"   
  
Unbelievably, the fire elemental began to shrink, and as it shrank,  
  
it lowered itself until it was no bigger than a house and hovering  
  
over the ground charred by the magical laser. It stayed there,  
  
waiting for Zilos's's command. The baalrog kept watching, clearly  
  
interested.   
  
Zilos laughed. It started out as a low chuckle, then grew to  
  
full-blown laughter.   
  
"Yes!" Zilos triumphed, his eyes dancing in delight. "I've done it. A  
  
true, full-grown elemental. Not a young one or an imitation, but a  
  
true elemental." He calmed down. "Crayak's gift did not work, but I  
  
didn't really need that gift, after all. Not with this power. Go," he  
  
commanded it, pointing to the battle beyond the open gates.  
  
"Destroy the dragons. Themis is finished, but the dragons   
  
are still strong. Burn those that burn, and suffocate those who do  
  
not. Now go!" And the fire elemental grew, lifting from the  
  
ground.   
  
Crayak, huh? You don't mind if I drop in, do you. After all, with  
  
house guests like the ultimate optometrist, I must be welcome.  
  
The baalrog that was watching darted towards the elemental.   
  
"What?" Zilos uttered just as the baalrog dived through the  
  
elemental, fire streaming after him as he shot through the other end  
  
like embers.   
  
Great, Marco muttered. Nothing solid anywhere in it.   
  
"One of the animal children," Zilos realized. He stared at the flying  
  
demon in surprise and ... fear.   
  
"Destroy it!" he screamed at the fire elemental, pointing at the  
  
baalrog that wasn't really a baalrog. "Kill it now!"   
  
The fire elemental shifted, seeming to turn towards the demon as it  
  
tries to fly past. Instantly an arm of fire shot out to block the  
  
baalrog's path. Marco flew through, unharmed.   
  
Uh, I'm kinda immune to fire. Try something else. Marco flew  
  
towards the summoner, a fire whip materializing in his hand.   
  
Say cheese,' he said, reaching out with his free hand for the  
  
summoner.   
  
Suddenly, a wall of flame cut Marco off, blinding him with the  
  
sight of nothing but fire. The summoner fell to the ground,  
  
clutching the hourglass protectively. Marco flew past him, missing  
  
Zilos.   
  
Drats! Have to go through all of that *again?* Marco whined as  
  
he burst out of the hovering wall of flame. He made a sharp U-turn  
  
and came at Zilos again. The elemental cut him off again, suddenly  
  
expanding so that it covered the whole court with fire, leaving a  
  
bubble of breathable air around its master. Marco couldn't see Zilos  
  
through the firestorm that had started to climb up the walls,  
  
reaching for him. Marco just flew higher, the overwhelming heat  
  
comforting his demon mind.   
  
A huge black smoke cloud billowed up from the fire pit. Before  
  
Marco realized it, he was surrounded by choking smoke. Then he  
  
found out that even demons need oxygen.   
  
Ack! Not fair. And he shot straight up, trying to get clear of the  
  
smoke.   
  
Only it didn't work. He cleared the cloud itself, but a small bit  
  
clung all about him, refusing to allow him to breathe clean air.   
  
Ax! Marco cried in panic, his lungs burning and gasping. Can't  
  
breath, man. Help!   
  
A wind picked up, blowing at the small cloud covering Marco. The  
  
winds grew stronger, to the point that Marco had a hard time  
  
staying aloft. The choking smoke clung to him, but bit by bit the  
  
smoke was blown away and dissipated in the air.   
  
Air! Clean, fresh air burned into Marco's lungs, but it tasted so  
  
sweet, and soon the pain went away.   
  
Thanks, Ax, Marco gasped. He looked down at the rising smoke  
  
cloud so far below him to see a strong wind breaking it up, too.   
  
Double thanks. Is it just me, or have you been saving my behind  
  
on a regular basis today?   
  
You were in danger. I did what I could to help.   
  
Yeah. I noticed. How are we going to reach Zilos now? I can't see  
  
him.   
  
You lost him that easily? Ax sniffed. I know where he is.   
  
Good, o high and mighty Andalite. Maybe you can get to him,  
  
then.   
  
No. The enflamed being has not stopped producing toxic gasses,  
  
and it is taking all of my power to keep the cloud from reaching  
  
you. Not only that, but I am in danger of being consumed if I come  
  
in contact with those flames.   
  
Marco thought about that. He slowly smiled.   
  
Can *you* go through the smoke? I mean, as a bubble? And you  
  
would stay together?   
  
Absolutely. The smoke cannot control what shape I am in, or how  
  
dense I am.   
  
Then forget about the wind. Form a tight bubble around me and  
  
get me down there. Soon, he felt a strange calm around him.   
  
Let's go for it! Marco cried as he slowly descended.   
  
Let me know if I go too fast, okay? he said as he entered the  
  
dense smoke. Sure enough, a solid-looking bubble surrounded him,  
  
keeping the deadly smoke away.   
  
What is your plan, Marco? Ax asked, a touch confused.   
  
You know exactly where he is, right?   
  
Yes.   
  
Lead me to him. When we reach the flames, I'll go in alone and  
  
take care of him. Got me?   
  
Got you. The bubble shifted directions, and Marco followed  
  
Ax's lead. Ax is never wrong when it comes to direction and  
  
location, and Marco knew this very well.   
  
Soon, they reached the flames. Ax started a small, powerful wind  
  
to clear the way of smoke. As soon as everything was clear, Marco  
  
suddenly dropped from sight.   
  
Uph! He hit the ground sooner than he expected.   
  
He looked around in the fire. Nothing but flames.   
  
Ax, you missed, Marco reported.   
  
Miss? Ax said with spited dignity. Well, I guess it is possible.  
  
Not likely, but possible. I think you would like to know that the fire  
  
line is dropping speedily.   
  
No, I didn't like to know that. Marco spun around, looking  
  
frantically for the dang nabbit twiggy guy before the smoke cloud  
  
reached him.   
  
Thud! His wing grazed something. He heard glass break. Then  
  
someone screamed.   
  
"NOOOOO!!!!! No, no, no," Zilos cried, ending in a despairing  
  
moan.   
  
The fire pit stopped sinking. The smoke stopped flowing into the  
  
air.   
  
The fire contracted, creating a spinning wheel of fire. As it did so,  
  
the concealing flames withdrew from the ground, revealing the  
  
despairing summoner, who knelt on the ground staring at his  
  
shattered, partially melted hourglass. The circle that was not  
  
immediately around him was burned away. The cloth holding the  
  
gold was gone, and the gold had melted away. The dragon tooth  
  
still gleamed brightly, and the crucible was undamaged.   
  
Soon, the whole fire elemental hovered in the air, looming over  
  
Zilos like a cloud of doom. Zilos tore his gaze away from the  
  
broken hourglass in time to see the angry, vengeful entity turn from  
  
orange-red to white-blue.   
  
"No," he whispered, fear nearly numbing his mind. Instantly, he  
  
reached for the unicorn horn stashed in his robes. His hand just  
  
barely touched the horn when the elemental struck. A sheet of  
  
superheated fire rained down on him, completely engulfing him  
  
and the ground he stood on. He screamed once, then fell silent.   
  
The elemental continued to burn the area, making sure that he was  
  
dead. When it withdrew, nothing but a blackened body clutching  
  
tightly to a still glowing unicorn horn was left. Satisfied, the  
  
elemental flew away, not really taking note of the castle, the  
  
baalrog, the young air elemental, or the war outside. It just left, for  
  
none of the destruction concerned it.   
  
Marco looked around the castle court. It was as hot as an oven, so  
  
hot that even Ax was terribly uncomfortable inside the court. He  
  
floated to the outside of the castle walls, away from the rising heat.  
  
Everything was blackened or destroyed. The stone walls were  
  
darkened, radiating heat in thick waves. The ground was now black  
  
glass. The wood drawbridge and wood doors were gone, long since  
  
burned away. The metal chains that used to hold the bridge, the  
  
weapons, and any other metal object was now molten slag. Any  
  
cloth, straw, or combustible object was no where to be seen.  
  
Smoke filled the castle halls, still seeping out the shattered  
  
windows. If any living thing was anywhere in that court or those  
  
halls, it was long since dead. Even now, the hot stone walls and  
  
glassy ground radiated enough heat to boil a person alive.   
  
All of this destruction was comforting to the baalrog mind. Just  
  
add a few more endless fires and it would be just like home.   
  
Marco, of course, was not comforted. He couldn't even make a joke  
  
about this.   
  
Oh, man. What was that guy thinking? He looked at Zilos'  
  
shriveled, stick-like body, sick and amazed that his body wasn't  
  
totally incinerated. Was it his imagination, or was the body actually  
  
growing thicker?   
  
Marco, Ax said, the human prisoners are exiting the  
  
dungeons.   
  
Wha? Marco asked. Shaken out of his thoughts.   
  
The humans. Cassie is releasing them.   
  
What? Is she insane?!? They can't survive this heat. Cassie! he  
  
yelled. They can't come up.   
  
Faintly, from far away Cassie answered. They are not staying  
  
down here.   
  
Cassie, listen, he yelled, kneeling on the glassy ground.  
  
everything's so hot up here that it'll cook them alive.   
  
For a while, Cassie was silent. What's hot, specifically.   
  
The castle. Everything in the castle is broiling. Then he realized  
  
what she can do. Can you lead them to a place outside the castle?  
  
Somewhere far away with, like, a tunnel or something?   
  
It may work, Cassie, Ax interjected. As a young earth  
  
elemental, you may be able to create a tunnel that will not  
  
collapse.   
  
OK, guys, Cassie consented, but I need a target. Something to  
  
tunnel for, or else I'll be, well, driving blind.   
  
Done, Ax said. Invisible, he flew to a spot on the ground a safe  
  
distance away from the castle. Being sensitive to the heat, he knew  
  
just how far away would be comfortable for the more fragile  
  
humans.   
  
Once he found a spot at the bottom of a small ditch about fifty  
  
yards from the castle, he began to spin. Faster and faster he spun,  
  
pulling himself tighter and tighter, until a hollow howling sound  
  
was made. He touched the black earth, and tighter he spun still,  
  
attracting twigs and dust in the process, until the howl was no  
  
longer a howl, but a shrill siren.   
  
Cassie, can you hear this? he yelled as loud as he could, hoping  
  
she was not out of range. She didn't answer.   
  
Hey, Cas! Marco called. Ax wants to know if you can hear  
  
him. He's a small tornado.   
  
Yes, Cassie replied. I hear.   
  
The ground rumbled slightly, and a small wave of vibrations shot  
  
through the ground towards Ax. He stayed in place, still spinning  
  
fast enough to keep the shrill siren sound going. The ground  
  
opened up underneath him, and only then did he stop. The twigs  
  
dropped to the ground, and the dust settled, rendering Ax invisible  
  
again.   
  
Amazing, Ax remarked to himself. No sense of vertigo.   
  
After a few minutes, a dirty human head poked out. He flinched in  
  
even the dim light underneath Themis' storm cloud, but he crawled  
  
out. A joyous grin spreading across his face, he turned around to  
  
help the others climb out.   
  
Inside the castle, the ground didn't stop rumbling. As soon as the  
  
last prisoner was out of the tunnel, the vibrations escalated. Soon,  
  
the tops of the walls crumbled, and the glass ground began to crack  
  
and shatter.   
  
Whup, gotta go, Marco remarked to no one in particular. He  
  
took off into the air, leaving the body of Zilos behind.   
  
The vibrations grew stronger. Once Cassie knew that no one would  
  
be hurt by her, she let go of all of her anger at what she had seen in  
  
the underground dungeon. The vibrations grew to an earthquake.  
  
The dungeons collapsed. The castle walls crumbled and fell down.  
  
Ceilings fell in, and the floors couldn't hold themselves anymore  
  
and collapsed.   
  
CRACK! BOOM! SCREEEEEECHHHHHH! Stone screamed in  
  
pain and tore apart. A sinkhole formed in the court, sucking  
  
everything in.   
  
As the stones began to fall in, Zilos' ash-covered hand moved.   
  
* * * *   
  
Rachel flew through the air alone. Well, not quite alone, for the  
  
other dragons had also taken flight, but alone in that she did not fly  
  
with them as they headed towards the center of the battle, where  
  
King Themis and his badly outnumbered army stood fast. Just a  
  
moment before, she had demorphed and re-morphed, only to find  
  
that the other dragons were gathering at the center of   
  
the battle. Far, far away, a fireball larger than the castle lit the sky,  
  
casting its red, fiery glow across Themis' angry cloud, heading for  
  
the castle. She flew adjacent to the dome of lightning, not drawing  
  
close.   
  
She did not want to get close. Jake would be there, underneath that  
  
protective dome. She knew that if she saw him, she would have to  
  
make a choice, and she did not want to make that choice.   
  
Rachel was a brave girl, one who acted before she thought, and she  
  
never backed away from a challenge. She was reckless on a regular  
  
basis in the war against the Yeerks, playing by ear instead of  
  
allowing herself to be paralyzed by indecision. But this was  
  
different. Very, very different. This time, it was better to avoid the  
  
...   
  
No,' Rachel thought as she saw something rise from the lightning  
  
dome. A small, nearly invisible bird with narrow wings and  
  
beautifully contrasting colors of dark and light. It was a peregrine  
  
falcon, and the only peregrine falcon on this world was Jake. As  
  
she watched him, Jake started to fly towards the far distant forest,  
  
but seeing her, changed direction slightly and gained altitude,  
  
flying directly towards her.   
  
She couldn't avoid it any longer. With her huge, black dragon body  
  
against the glowing red sky, she stood out even for human eyes.   
  
Who did she love more, Jake or Tobias? Tobias.   
  
Jake would understand. He'd be happy to sacrifice himself for any  
  
of the Animorphs. He was the leader. Of course he'd understand.   
  
But what about Cassie? Cassie and the others?   
  
They wouldn't understand. Especially not Cassie. And even if she  
  
did ... what would it do to her? If she killed Jake, she could no  
  
longer be with her friends, even if they never found out. She could  
  
never stand to be with them if she betrayed them so badly. And  
  
Jake was needed in the war against the Yeerks.   
  
But we're never going back to that war, are we,' a bitter voice said  
  
in her head. We can never go home. We are stuck here.'   
  
Tobias *will* die, Drode had said. But why should she trust him?   
  
Because he has never lied to you. Not even when he gave the  
  
Animorphs a chance to stop Visser 4. And what will happen to  
  
Tobias if you don't trust him now?'   
  
Tobias was the one who always watched over the Animorphs, over  
  
her. The innocent, sad, hopeful boy who had the strength to hold  
  
on to his humanity in spite of the horrid things that had happened  
  
to him. Sweet, gentle, courageous Tobias, with tender blue eyes  
  
and wild, dirty blonde hair.   
  
She *couldn't* give him up. She just couldn't.   
  
Forgive me, Jake...Cassie, she said to herself as she changed  
  
course and flew to greet Jake.   
  
He wants you to give up,' a small voice in the back of her head  
  
said. She almost screeched to a halt in mid-air. Jake continued to  
  
fly towards her, speeding up just a little.   
  
What am I doing?' She asked herself. Am I really saving Tobias?  
  
Or am I giving in to Crayak, becoming his pawn.'   
  
She knew the answer. But was her freedom really worth more than  
  
Tobias?   
  
What would Tobias say? What would he think?   
  
Rachel, Jake called as soon as she was in thought-speak range.  
  
You okay? You just stopped all of a sudden.   
  
Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing?   
  
Something stupid, but it may work. No time to explain, but I need  
  
you to help calm Themis' army and the other dragons when I do  
  
it.   
  
Gotcha, Rachel answered as Jake flew past, heading for the vast,  
  
green forest.   
  
Now would be perfect,' a small voice said. Maybe her own. And it  
  
was a perfect time. Jake had his back turned to her, unsuspecting,  
  
helpless and there were no witnesses. All of the other dragons were  
  
already at the battle's center.   
  
But she didn't move.   
  
As she watched, Jake began his dive. Faster than anything on this  
  
world or at home, he swooped towards the forest.   
  
She could still get him. All she had to do was breathe out her fire...   
  
And she still hovered in the air. She didn't open her mouth or move  
  
to follow Jake.   
  
Jake vanished on the edge of the huge, green trees. But she could  
  
still follow him, find him.   
  
Still she hesitated. Soon, she couldn't tell exactly where Jake  
  
landed. Finally, she turned away and headed for the battle, her  
  
heart shattering.   
  
This had better be worth it, Jake, she muttered, tears threatening  
  
to well up in her eyes. She saw the fireball rise from Levakh  
  
Castle, leaving it blackened. It flew back to where it came from.   
  
Soon, she was over the battle, heading towards the lightning dome.  
  
At least fighting would get her mind off Drode's threat. Besides,  
  
maybe he was lying. Maybe Tobias wasn't dying.   
  
Imperceptibly, a darkness Rachel had not noticed left her, leaving  
  
her to mourn.   
  
* * * *   
  
Jake pulled up harshly as soon as he neared the treetops. He landed  
  
roughly just inside the edge of the woods, at least two miles from  
  
the edge of the battle.   
  
He hoped he was far enough away.   
  
He demorphed as quickly as he could, shooting up from the  
  
ground, with waves of weariness washing over him. After all, he  
  
had been fighting and morphing for quite a while. He hoped Rachel  
  
demorphed sometime during the battle. That one thought brought  
  
his encounter with her sharply to focus. She was obviously  
  
bothered by something, and Rachel wasn't the kind of girl who  
  
would be bothered by much. Now was not the time, though, to  
  
think about what it could possibly have been. He would ask her  
  
later. For now, he had an army to save.   
  
Jake staggered over to the edge of the forest and looked at the  
  
battlefield. All he could see was a cloud of dust and dark, moving  
  
masses. The ground underneath him rumbled, and the black castle  
  
shook, falling apart. He closed his eyes a moment, catching his  
  
breath, then opened them again and focused.   
  
Immediately, he shot up from the ground, just as if he were  
  
demorphing from fly or ant. Up and up he flew, his feet planted  
  
firmly on the ground, and as he grew the ends of his hands  
  
changed. His feet sank into the ground. Huge claws formed out of  
  
his nails, impossibly long, thick claws. Thick, feathery, black and  
  
white fur sprung up from all around him, impossible long fur that  
  
hid his features. Proportionally, his legs and arms shortened, and  
  
he lost his balance and fell forward with a monstrous crash. His  
  
arms-turned-legs took the impact, and his still-bare palms grew  
  
padded, turning into paws. A tail shot out from behind him and  
  
grew long, feathery fur. Looking down, Jake could see the battle.  
  
The battle was still, everything from the mighty dragons to the  
  
lowly goblins staring up at him. At last, his face elongated, pushing  
  
out and out and out, forming a very   
  
long mouth and narrow forehead.   
  
He was impossibly huge. His claws, each bigger than the biggest  
  
giant or dragon, stopped at the very edge of the stilled battle. His  
  
massive shoulders grazed Themis' dark cloud. The broken castle  
  
laid forgotten, its fall insignificant in the face of Jake. Jake loomed  
  
over everything, completely blocking out the sky. Everything  
  
below him was rooted to the ground, paralyzed in fear and terrible  
  
awe.   
  
It's me, Jake, he whispered to King Themis' army and the  
  
dragons. Even whispering, he nearly blew all of their minds away.  
  
Don't worry.   
  
Looking down, he chose a target. With one swipe of his claws, he  
  
sent dozens of monsters flying, broken.   
  
That was it. Screaming in sheer terror, the monster army scattered,  
  
ignoring their helpless enemies. Not even Zilos could command  
  
them to attack that ... that thing that the human animal child had  
  
become.   
  
Themis, seeing Jake through the dome of lightning, was drenched  
  
in cold sweat. Jake had warned him, and he had done everything he  
  
could with his magic to keep his soldiers from panicking along  
  
with their enemies, but Jake had said that this creature was  
  
ridiculous. Ridiculous, he said!   
  
"F-father, what's th-th-that?" Herlim managed to stutter, looking up  
  
at the alien head that filled up the whole sky.   
  
Themis opened his mouth to answer.   
  
* * * *   
  
"An anteater!" Marco cried in delight. "Jake turned into an  
  
anteater!" He couldn't take it anymore. Holding onto his sides  
  
tightly, Marco rolled on the dead ground, laughing uncontrollably.  
  
Cassie herself couldn't keep from laughing, and even Ax couldn't  
  
help but smile as best as an air elemental could.   
  
It is tactically sound, he defended his prince. It is large enough  
  
to survive an attack from a primitive army, and on this world  
  
where they don't exist, it is quite a frightening thing. I certainly  
  
would not wish to fight it.   
  
Marco, Cassie, and Ax were with the freed captives, Marco and  
  
Cassie as themselves and Ax as the invisible air elemental. They  
  
calmed the poor captives and watched as Zilos' army scattered in  
  
all directions.   
  
"An *anteater.* He kicked their butts with an *anteater*!" And  
  
Marco continued to laugh loudly, tears forming in his tightly shut  
  
eyes. The frightened captives stared at him, not seeing what he  
  
found so funny.   
  
No one noticed when a lone gargoyle broke off from the army just  
  
before Jake had turned into the anteater. It flew into the castle, then  
  
quickly left again, carrying something in its stone-like arms.   
  
Zilos flew away, still clutching the unicorn horn. He watched as his  
  
castle fell, then as his wonderful army shattered.   
  
Defeated, he commanded the gargoyle to take him far away, which  
  
the gargoyle did.   
  
* * * *   
  
"We have to go," Rachel insisted to Jake. Both of them had  
  
demorphed, much to everyone's relief, and were waiting for Cassie,  
  
Marco, and Ax. The battle was won, allowing the nurses to care for  
  
the wounded and the dead, and allowing the soldiers, knights, and  
  
dragons to rest. After disbanding the cloud, King Themis and his  
  
sons helped care for the wounded and the dead, leaving Rachel and  
  
Jake alone.   
  
"Why?" Jake asked. He still remembered her rather unnerving  
  
distress earlier, but realized that bringing it up would not help.   
  
"I'm worried about Tobias. We have to go back right *now*,"  
  
Rachel answered.   
  
Jake nodded, a suspicious glint in his eye. "We'll leave as soon as  
  
Cassie and the rest are here." He paused a moment, as if  
  
contemplating something.   
  
He was about to say something, but when Marco, Cassie, and Ax  
  
appeared, he decided against it. Soon, five birds that existed no  
  
where on that world flew over the blackened earth of Levakh,  
  
headed straight for the lush forests of Hivena.   
  
King Themis watched them fly away. With a wave of his hand, the  
  
cloud overhead thinned and dissipated. First, small patches of blue  
  
grew, then thin rays of the noonday sun broke through, and those  
  
blue patches and rays of light grew until the sky was completely  
  
clear, with no trace of dark clouds anywhere. He never had to use  
  
his power.   
  
"Lecrian," he addressed his son, "what is happening at home?"   
  
"I don't really know, Father," he replied. "Has Mother ever been  
  
attacked by spydrs?"   
  
* * * *   
  
All was strangely quiet at Hivena. The sun shone brightly on its  
  
way toward evening, but there was no cheer. Spydr webs hung on  
  
turrets and roofs, glued doors and windows shut, and clogged halls.  
  
The palace was sealed. Outside the palace, where damage was  
  
minimal, most of the spydr threads were gone, so the citizens could  
  
do some last minute shopping and socializing before the evening.  
  
Not that any of the citizens were cheerful, for each one was  
  
worried about what had happened inside the palace, where the  
  
spydr attack had been focused. They waited nervously for any word  
  
from the palace, but none came.   
  
Inside the palace, everyone was in a hurry. Servants fanned flames  
  
and carries torches, hefted swords off walls and took knives out of  
  
drawers, and filled water buckets and cups and any container able  
  
to hold water and hauled them up and down stairs. The few  
  
magic-users trapped in the palace cast spells, starting magical fires,  
  
extinguishing others when they rage out of control, and dissolving  
  
webs with invisible acid. All of these frantic actions concentrated  
  
on one hallway: the one leading to the room where Queen Marah  
  
and the young hero had been trapped, completely isolated.   
  
The hallway was impassible, for the webs were so thick that it was  
  
a virtual wall. It filled the whole hall, and no one could tell how  
  
deep it was. The webs smoked terribly, so any flames on it had to  
  
be extinguished regularly, but they were so tough that only the  
  
sharpest of knives and the heaviest of swords could cut it, and so  
  
sticky that if anyone would just graze an arm across a strand, that  
  
person would be stuck fast. Ariana stayed out of the way, using her  
  
power to coordinate efforts and monitor her Mother and Tobias.   
  
Inside the room, nothing moved. The window facing the east did  
  
not catch the bright sun, leaving the room in a grey twilight. The  
  
candles were low, nearly burnt out. The two spydr carcasses were  
  
drying, nothing more than black shadows. Queen Marah knelt by  
  
the lone bed, her head resting on the mattress, her hand barely  
  
holding onto the boy's. Tobias laid in the bed, all color gone from  
  
his face as he slipped back into a dangerous weakness.   
  
Marah had nothing left in her. The spydr's poison, though not lethal  
  
to one as healthy as herself, was seriously debilitating, sapping her  
  
of her energy. Since that horrible morning, she had given what  
  
little strength she had to Tobias, determined, even in her  
  
half-conscious state, to keep him alive. But that was the morning,  
  
when she could throw a forty pound, struggling spydr out the  
  
window and still manage to stumble back to the bed. Now it was  
  
evening, and there was nothing left to give.   
  
As she slipped into unconsciousness again, she thought she heard  
  
Tobias say something. His voice was nothing more than a whisper,  
  
so quiet that if the wind blew outside she would not have been able  
  
to hear it.   
  
"Tell them I'm sorry," he pleaded.   
  
Still touching Tobias' hand, Marah felt him slip away. 


	6. Part 6

The sun had set over the forest of Hivena. The combined armies of  
  
King Themis and the Dragon King settled down for the night.  
  
Lecrian relaxed, looking forward to a good night's sleep. The  
  
visions went away when the battle ended, so he hoped that it meant  
  
that no more dreams would come. He was wrong.   
  
~~~   
  
Cassie sat on the stone floor of a book-filled room,.a heavy book  
  
held open in her lap and candles lighting its pages. The book  
  
glowed a warm pink, so Lecrian knew that Father had cast a spell  
  
on it, making it possible for Cassie to read. It was a book of  
  
legends, opened to a page with a dusty, cream colored unicorn with  
  
way too many curls, which stood on its hind legs on a glassy lake.  
  
The text read:   
  
"One of the more persistent legends, the unicorn is said to still  
  
exist. Many take the unicorn's restoring power to mean that it could  
  
defy death itself. Unfortunately, no one has seen a unicorn in over  
  
five hundred years, it is highly unlikely that this is true, if the  
  
unicorn has ever existed at all."   
  
The scene suddenly swirled away in a wind of darkness. There was  
  
no more light, and no sound.   
  
With the same suddenness of the library's disappearance, several  
  
other beings appeared.   
  
Zilos and two creatures stood in empty space. There was no light,  
  
no sky, no ground, but the three stood as if on a solid surface, and  
  
were perfectly visible. One of the creatures looked eerily like  
  
Aximili, but larger, older, and with a decisively evil spirit. The  
  
other creature was ... interesting. It looked like a demonic version  
  
of Tobias in the blue-green realm, with rodent features instead of  
  
bird. Instead of Tobias's and a bird's spirit superimposed over the  
  
physical, half animal, half human body, it was the boy, David, and  
  
a ... what did Rachel call it? A rat? Overlooking the three of them  
  
as they conversed with each other, loomed the half metal, half flesh  
  
giant with a large eye in place of a head.   
  
As Lecrian silently watched, the rat-boy grinned a horrifying grin,  
  
and his human spirit faded away. Behind him, a faint image of a  
  
man and a woman appeared, then faded away with the same  
  
finality. The older ... Andalite? Was that the name? ... scowled, but  
  
nodded his head in reluctant agreement. Instantly, a metallic, boxy  
  
device appeared at Zilos' feet, which he greedily snatched up. Then  
  
the Andalite disappeared, going back to wherever he came from.  
  
David moved over to Zilos, and the two of them vanished. Lecrian  
  
had the impression that they appeared at that moment at Zilos'  
  
castle.   
  
DO YOU UNDERSTAND, TOBIAS? A massive voice boomed.  
  
The darkness and the giant seemed to blow away, replaced by a  
  
blue-green light which enveloped all of the empty space.   
  
"Er, no," came the reply. It sounded as if it was coming from  
  
behind Lecrian. He spun around, and saw two bird-like creatures  
  
hovering. One was Tobias, with the hawk and the boy spirits co-  
  
occupying the same space as a solid half bird, half human creation.  
  
Beside him was a beautiful bird-man, but with a dusty, rainbow  
  
colored tail instead of rusty red. "What does this have to do with  
  
Eran shooting me, Ellimist?"   
  
The other bird-man, Ellimist, smiled. And when he spoke, his  
  
voice no longer boomed. "Each one of them gave up something so  
  
they could get what they wanted. David has his morphing power  
  
back, but he lost his humanity. He lost his family so he could have  
  
the opportunity to destroy you and your friends."   
  
"And Visser 3 gave up a bomb, yeah," Tobias interrupted,  
  
sounding slightly annoyed. "But I thought that neither you or  
  
Crayak could interfere with anything. What happened?"   
  
The smile vanished. "You forget. The two of us make the rules to  
  
our games. Both of us agreed to play the fate of Hivena's world in  
  
this way. And the fate of all of the Animorphs, past and present."   
  
Tobias nodded, understanding, but with a touch of self-berating, as  
  
if he had made a potentially serious mistake. "Sorry."   
  
The smile came back. "You humans never cease to amaze me.  
  
Now, may I finish telling you what you have witnessed?" He  
  
waited a moment, then continued. "Zilos received the bomb, but  
  
also immense power and the valuable gift of the unicorn. He has  
  
not paid for his power yet, but he will when Crayak requires it of  
  
him."   
  
"Now, to Visser 3 ... and you." He turned, facing Tobias directly.  
  
"The enemy of your world has given up more than a simple bomb.  
  
He gave up his hold over a few crucial human hosts, and he lost a  
  
whole world. Maybe even two others, as a result. All of these are  
  
major losses to the Yeerks. Do you know why he would do that,  
  
Turning Point?"   
  
Tobias stared at him, apprehension in his blue-gold eyes. He had an  
  
idea of why Visser 3 would give up so much.   
  
"He did it to get rid of you and your friends: the Andalite Bandits.  
  
Forever. Your friends are not trapped in a Sario Rip, which could  
  
be mended by one of you dying or by an energy blast. You are  
  
stuck on this world, a world that Crayak has already moved to  
  
destroy. A world so primitive that it will take eons for anything to  
  
have the power to send you home. With the Animorphs out of the  
  
way, nothing can stop Visser 3 from taking over your world, and  
  
from there, overwhelm the Andalites, and from there you get the  
  
picture."   
  
"Why are you telling me this?" Tobias questioned, anger in his  
  
voice. "Why are you going out of your way to tell me that there is  
  
no hope?"   
  
Ellimist didn't answer. Tobias' eyes grew wide in sudden  
  
understanding. "You haven't asked anyone to give up anything," he  
  
realized.   
  
Ellimist nodded, satisfaction in his eyes. "You can save your  
  
friends, Tobias. You can save this world and give yours a chance  
  
again. You can give your friends a chance against David and Zilos,  
  
and a guarantee that the Animorphs will return to your earth. I just  
  
want you to do one thing, Tobias, son of Elfangor and Loren."   
  
The same voice that had cried earlier that day started weeping  
  
again, almost inaudible. The blue- green realm with its two  
  
occupants faded away, dissolving into a scene that Lecrian knew  
  
all too well. It was of Tobias laying alone on the floor, surrounded  
  
by a pool of his own blood. His eyes fluttered, an arm strained to  
  
move. He looked at the ceiling for a long moment, then sank back  
  
into painless unconsciousness again, losing his chance to demorph.   
  
"You must give up everything."   
  
~~~   
  
So, then I told him...   
  
Nuh, uh, Marco, Rachel cut him off. Bad joke. Already heard it  
  
before.   
  
Not this version, he would've grinned if he was in human form.  
  
I told him --Duh, buh Dah! -- "Rachel is madly in love with me!"  
  
Hah!   
  
Okay, that's it. She glared balefully at the cocky acting osprey  
  
hiding behind its mild-mannered "twin." Out of the way, Cas.   
  
I would, but I don't think it'd do any good, Cassie answered  
  
quickly. He'd just get behind me again.   
  
That's right, Marco put in, keeping Cassie strategically between  
  
him and the much larger bald eagle. I can always depend on you,  
  
Cassie.   
  
I don't think I will get involved in this, Ax commented, shying  
  
away from the other three.   
  
Jake had to smile inwardly. Marco was trying very hard to distract  
  
his friends from remembering what they talked about just an hour  
  
earlier, especially Rachel.   
  
The sunset to their right was beautiful. Overhead, the sky was an  
  
absolutely stunning myriad of colors ranging from pink-orange  
  
against silvery white to deep, dark purple with grey clouds. The sea  
  
of trees underneath them was teaming with life, from werewolves  
  
to golden stags to firebugs. Somewhere ahead of the group, still too  
  
far away for even their eyes, was the castle of Hivena, where their  
  
injured teammate, Tobias, was being taken care of.   
  
I hope he's just injured, Jake thought silently. He thought about  
  
the news Marco brought him. It was in the middle of the day, soon  
  
after they left the battlefield. Marco, Cassie and Ax told him and  
  
Rachel everything that happened, from Ax's talk with Zilos to the  
  
destruction of the castle.   
  
I'm telling you, Marco had said to the group a few hours earlier.  
  
Crayak is in this up to his mechanical armpits.   
  
And how did you come to that conclusion, hm? Rachel  
  
challenged, a little bit too anxiously.   
  
He helped Zilos somehow, didn't he? No way how Zilos could  
  
have conjured up all those monsters up all by himself.   
  
And then there is the explosive device, Ax put in helpfully.  
  
Yeerk made.   
  
And David! Marco said with finality. How can you possibly  
  
argue with David?   
  
I saw Drode, Jake put in calmly. He was at the battle.   
  
Rachel had shifted her gaze directly to him, watching him closely.  
  
He stared back.   
  
Drode?!? Marco exploded. What was he doing there?   
  
I don't know, Marco, Jake answered I didn't have a chance to  
  
talk to him.   
  
But this just doesn't make sense, Cassie argued. It just seems  
  
so out-of-character for Crayak to be doing so much openly. And  
  
where is the Ellimist?   
  
Rachel remained strangely quiet throughout the whole ordeal.  
  
Cassie had noticed, but Rachel wouldn't say a word except that  
  
they had all better get over to Hivena asap.   
  
Bringing his mind back from the past, Jake focused on his friends  
  
again. Rachel was trying to get around Cassie to get to Marco,  
  
though it was obvious she wouldn't really hurt him (he hoped). But  
  
the simple fact that she was responding to his teasing so ...  
  
physically was unusual, even for her.   
  
I sincerely hope you know what you're doing, Rachel, Jake said  
  
silently, watching her as she threatened to hurt Marco if he said  
  
another word. What did Drode say to you?   
  
Shifting his gaze away from the rather juvenile fight, Jake looked  
  
straight ahead. Soon, a single spire rose on the horizon. Hivena was  
  
close.   
  
We're almost there, Jake reported openly.   
  
Oh, good, Cassie exclaimed with obvious relief. She was getting  
  
tired of being a shield.   
  
Finally! Rachel exasperated, forgetting Marco in a second.  
  
Marco, for his part, didn't tease her anymore (for now), and looked  
  
at the nearly invisible spire.   
  
Prince Jake, we have ten of your minutes left, Ax reported.   
  
"*Our* minutes"?!? Marco stammered in indignation. Jake,  
  
you really have to talk to him about this "my minutes, your  
  
minutes" business.   
  
I don't use my minutes, Ax replied. I only   
  
Time to land, people, Jake interrupted Marco and Ax, already in  
  
a slow dive.   
  
They landed among the thick forest. Once beneath the treetops,  
  
however, the fading light was so dark...   
  
CRASH!!! Jake hit the ground, luckily avoiding the trees. The  
  
others landed behind him.   
  
Uh, I say we go owl, Marco suggested as Jake picked himself  
  
up. You know, so we don't crash into a brick wall when we try to  
  
enter a window or whatever.   
  
Great idea, Jake replied flatly. He began to demorph.   
  
I'm not, Rachel stated as she demorphed. I'm going dragon.  
  
They see in the dark, too, and are a lot faster.   
  
But, Rachel, you're the only one with a dragon morph, Cassie  
  
gently pointed out.   
  
So I'll just carry you guys. The dragon army carried Themis' army,  
  
didn't they?   
  
Ax? Jake, a falcon with an unusually long spine and with the  
  
knees bent backwards, asked.   
  
Ax, a green-eyed harrier with grey-white feathers melting into a  
  
sticky mess on its way to becoming blue and tan fur, looked around  
  
the forest. It is possible for her to carry us all, especially if we  
  
morph something small, but ... he hesitated, trying to figure  
  
things out with his limited night vision. Morphing into something  
  
so large would not be wise at this time.   
  
Why not? Rachel, a hunched over humanoid bird with bald  
  
wings, asked before she lost her thought-speech.   
  
The trees are too packed, Ax answered calmly as a pair of  
  
hoofed feet sprung from his chest as and his back legs grew.  
  
Morphing into something with such a large mass as a dragon, you  
  
would be crushed by the trees before you are halfway done. His  
  
friends were all standing up in the small clearing, becoming more  
  
and more human by the second.   
  
"How about a baalrog?" Marco asked, a human with bird eyes and  
  
feet. "They're from Hell, after all."   
  
"Hades," Cassie corrected him. "Devils are from Hell. Demons,  
  
like your baalrog, come from Hades."   
  
"Whatever." Marco rolled his eyes. In the darkness, nobody could  
  
see him do it, but had a fairly good guess from the tone of his  
  
voice. "I guess it really shouldn't surprise me that you read up on  
  
every animal and bug on this world, too."   
  
"I haven't read up on *everything.*" She smiled in the darkness. "I  
  
still haven't covered the extinct animals yet."   
  
A creature as large as your baalrog would not fit either, Ax told  
  
Marco.   
  
"How about something that just made our owls fly faster?" Jake  
  
asked meaningfully. Marco raised his eyebrows.   
  
"Ax morph air elemental?" he inquired. Jake nodded. "While the  
  
rest of us go owl? Sounds good to me."   
  
Rachel bit her lip as an idea came to her head. She was terribly  
  
anxious about Tobias, and all of the needless debate was making  
  
her impatient.   
  
"How about if Cassie morphs into her lightning person and check  
  
up on Tobias?" she suggested, unease lacing her ever word. "Her  
  
star-child, I mean."   
  
Jake looked closely at Rachel. "It could work. You want to do it,  
  
Cassie?" he asked her, deliberately looking away from his cousin.   
  
"It wouldn't be a problem," Cassie answered. "And I could help  
  
Marah if she needs it." Cassie moved closer to Rachel and said,  
  
"Don't worry, Rachel. He'll be fine."   
  
"Yeah," Rachel replied, forcing herself to sound convinced. Inside,  
  
though, a terrible dread was growing.   
  
"OK; so me, Marco, and Rachel go owl, Ax go elemental, and  
  
Cassie go star-child," Jake summed up. The others nodded. "Let's  
  
go."   
  
Soon, a flash of light that was Cassie flew out of the forest and  
  
headed towards Hivena castle, which was now invisible in the  
  
darkness. The sun now only touched a half of the sky with its light,  
  
leaving the land in shadow.   
  
Cassie sailed through the night sky, leaving her friends behind in a  
  
flash. The glow from her form lighting the way, she easily found  
  
the window and flew in. Once inside, she froze and stared.   
  
Where before there were several candlees throughout the room,  
  
only one was now lit. Two huge, black-furred monsters she  
  
recognized as spydrs laid dead, on chopped in half on the bed, and  
  
the other smashed on the floor. A rusty sword was imbedded in a  
  
mess of thick webs. Tobias laid peacefully on his bed, undisturbed.  
  
Marah leaned back on the edge if the bed, strands of webbing  
  
framing her pale, worn face. Marah winced as Cassie's bright light  
  
entered the room, be was too weak to shield her eyes. One of her  
  
shoulders was caked in dried blood.   
  
My word, Cassie exclaimed, immediately toning her brilliance  
  
down. What happened? Are you alright? Marah didn't answer,  
  
but she relaxed a little, seeing that it was Cassie and not another  
  
monster.   
  
As soon as her feet touched the floor, Cassie started to demorph,  
  
her glow the first thing to go. As she knelt by the queen, she  
  
glanced at Tobias, but he appeared alright. She would have to ask  
  
Marah what had happened, but Marah needed to be taken care of at  
  
the moment.   
  
"Marah?" she asked tenderly, placing her hand on the queen's  
  
shoulder. She started to examine the wounded shoulder, but she  
  
felt herself weaken just a bit.   
  
"Sorry," Marah whispered hoarsely. She lifted her head, strength  
  
flowing into her, and looked at Cassie as she finished her morph. "I  
  
am glad to see that you are alright."   
  
Cassie smiled, no longer weakening. "Me too." Still keeping a  
  
small smile, her face saddened in sympathy. "But it looks like you  
  
have a nasty bite there."   
  
"It is nothing. I will be alright now." She looked at her bitten  
  
shoulder. "Thank you for coming back so soon," Marah  
  
commented. "The poison will be gone in a moment or two. The  
  
spydr's bite is usually not so potent."   
  
Cassie started to pull away the torn cloth from the bite for a closer  
  
look, but the fabric stuck to the blood. Leaving the cloth where it  
  
is, she leaned even closer at the bite. There were many punctures,  
  
each one about a half-inch deep. Due to the particular poison used,  
  
the bleeding had stopped only minutes after it had begun, but the  
  
area around each bite was red.   
  
"It looks like you have an infection," Cassie told her. "Wish I had  
  
something to help you with that." She looked around and her eyes  
  
landed on the drawers. "Is there something in the drawers top  
  
bandage you up with?"   
  
"Cassie," Marah began, ignoring the question. "Please, listen to  
  
me," she begged.   
  
Cassie looked back at Marah eyes, and was suddenly hit by the  
  
pain in them. Silently, she sat next to the queen.   
  
After a few seconds, Marah spoke. "David came back," she said.  
  
"He was after Tobias." Cassie bit her lip, letting Marah go on  
  
without interruption. But Marah didn't say anything more.   
  
"What happened?" Cassie asked, a silent dread wheling up inside  
  
her.   
  
"There were some other spydrs in the castle, and they sealed me  
  
and Tobias in alone. David bit me after I killed his friends," Marah  
  
continued, saying every word carefully, as if she had something  
  
hard to say. "He attacked this morning. I supported Tobias the best  
  
I could, for as long as I could, but ..."   
  
Cassie nearly pulled away in disbelief. Was Marah saying what she  
  
thought she was saying?   
  
"Tobias is dead, Cassie," Marah finished, her voice stricken. "He  
  
died not two hours ago."   
  
Cassie just sat there, stunned.   
  
"No way," she whispered. "He was doing so well ..." Desperate,  
  
she looked at Marah with a question in her eyes, somehow hoping  
  
that Marah was kidding.   
  
Marah didn't say a word. Then Cassie knew that Tobias didn't  
  
make it.   
  
She cried. She had hoped ... she thought he was safe here ...   
  
A tear running down her cheeck, Marah tenderly reached an arm  
  
around Cassie's small shoulders and hugged her close. Cassie  
  
accepted the gesture and leaned on Marah, tears flowing freely  
  
onto her shoulder.   
  
"I know it's hard," Marah said in a soft voice, trying to comfort the  
  
gentle warrior. "But he's probably happier now. No more sorrow."   
  
Cassie continued to cry.   
  
Tobias was dead. She was so sure that he would be fine ... and he  
  
wasn't.   
  
And she was too late. He would have been alright, if she and her  
  
friends were only a little bit faster ...   
  
She kept crying, not listening to Marah as the woman kept trying to  
  
comfort her.   
  
"What am I going to tell them?" she choked. Suddenly, a thought  
  
hit her, and her head snapped up. "Oh, no. Rachel."   
  
Cassie moaned. "What will happen to Rachel when she finds out?  
  
And Jake?"   
  
"I don't know," Marah answered as she pulled the blanket over  
  
Tobias' face. "It's never an easy thing."   
  
Tears still clouding her vision, Cassie looked at the dead spydrs.  
  
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then bent down and  
  
lifted the broken spydr on the floor.   
  
"What are you doing?" Marah asked, confused. Cassie's grip  
  
slipped a little, but she didn't drop it.   
  
"They don't need to see this," Cassie explained in a shaky voice as  
  
she staggered over to the window. "Maybe it would make it a little  
  
bit easier for them."   
  
Marah nodded in understanding, then grabbed both halves of the  
  
spydr on the bed. She watched Cassie as the girl heaved the spydr  
  
out the window, then walked up and threw her own.   
  
Marah looked down out the window and watched the spydrs  
  
disappear in the water-filled moat. This reminded her of  
  
something...   
  
"I wonder about David," she mused.   
  
"What?"   
  
Marah thought for a second, then shook her head. "Nothing  
  
important at the moment."   
  
For a second, neither one of them spoke in the uncomfortable  
  
silence.   
  
"I guess I'd better go," Cassie said sadly. "It'll tear them apart, but I  
  
need to tell them."   
  
Marah nodded, then wearily looked at the webs and spilt blood,  
  
both her own and the spydrs'. "I will finish cleaning." Cassie closed  
  
her eyes, then began to morph.   
  
Just then, A clear voice rang in their heads. {We have almost  
  
reached the door, Mother!} Ariana cried joyfully. {You will be free  
  
in less than an hour.}   
  
That's close? Cassie asked skeptically.   
  
"They have been working on destroying the webs since this  
  
morning. They have made quite a bit of progress since then."   
  
I ... see.   
  
Marah turned her attention to her daughter. {Good job, Ariana.  
  
How much of the castle is free?}   
  
{Most of the entrances, a few windows, the library, the kitchen, the  
  
servants' quarters, ...}   
  
As Ariana listed all of the areas freed, Cassie paused. A vague  
  
memory played in her mind, trying to surface. A memory of  
  
pictures...   
  
Cassie sucked in her breath. Of course! She quickly finished  
  
morphing.   
  
Marah, she started, all tears in her voice gone, replaced by  
  
desperate hope. I'm going to the library. Later!   
  
Before the bewildered queen could grasp what the small heroine  
  
was saying, Cassie disappeared in a flash of light.   
  
* * * *   
  
Three worried great-horned owls flew towards the now visible,  
  
pushed to their maximum speed with the help of an air elemental.  
  
The darkness was nearly complete, broken by the unfamiliar stars  
  
and a moon with a stranger's face shining overhead. No sounds was  
  
heard, and no one broke the silence. Even Marco gave up making  
  
conversation a long time ago.   
  
Cassie had left them over half an hour ago to check on Tobias. She  
  
was supposed to have come back immediately, but she had not.   
  
Rachel? Jake asked her privately. What did Drode say to you?  
  
I wouldn't pry, but you've been acting weird since.   
  
I don't want to talk about it, she answered irritably.   
  
Fine, Jake replied, a touch of anger in his voice.' But I know  
  
Drode said something to you, and judging from the way you've  
  
been acting, it's about Tobias. And if it's about him, one of us, we  
  
have a right to know. He's not just important to you.   
  
And what is he to you? Just another ... she stopped herself  
  
before saying "tool."   
  
Another what?   
  
Never mind, she finished, cutting off the conversation. And Jake  
  
didn't press the matter.   
  
Relieved that Jake let off, Rachel paid attention to her other  
  
friends. Below her, Marco flew in silence, and she could feel Ax  
  
supporting them all, hurrying them with perfect air currents. Both  
  
of them worried.   
  
Jake's right,' she thought. They deserved to know about Drode's  
  
threat, but if they did ... they would know that there was more to it.  
  
Marco would probably realize it first (exactly how, she didn't  
  
know: he just always did), and Ax would come to the tactical  
  
conclusion that Drode wouldn't have threatened without using that  
  
knowledge, and Jake would know just because he knew her. And  
  
she'd rather not tell Jake that Drode wanted he to kill him, or how  
  
close she came to giving in.   
  
Below them, the castle grew larger. They were almost there.   
  
We're this close to the castle already, she told Jake finally.  
  
We'll check up on Tobias, and then maybe I'll tell the others.   
  
Jake didn't answer, but she could almost feel the lingering tendrils  
  
of scrutiny lift. He wasn't happy, but he wasn't going to pry  
  
anymore.   
  
Grateful, she turned towards the ever growing square of light she  
  
knew was the room where Tobias was taken care of.   
  
* * * * *   
  
Marah sat on a chair, dressed in an whole, clean dress. She was  
  
tired again, and so didn't even look up as Rachel, Jake, Marco, and  
  
Ax slid soundlessly into the room. Her torn and blood-caked dress  
  
was shoved into a drawer, carefully out of sight. The stubborn  
  
webbing was cleaned off of the floor and sword, and the ancient  
  
weapon was leaned against the wall near her. The spydr blood was  
  
mopped up, and only a thin film was left on the bed cover. But the  
  
forever burning candles were not as cheerful as they used to be,  
  
and the door was still stuck, though her daughter was much closer  
  
than she had been, and the bloodstained bed cover was still drawn  
  
up over Tobias' face.   
  
No, Rachel moaned disbelieving in open thought-speech as she  
  
started to demorph, not caring who heard her. No!   
  
Oh, man, Marco murmured, shrinking eyes focused on the  
  
blanket pulled over his friend's face. No way...   
  
Jake stood in silence, refusing to morph. This just couldn't be ...   
  
I don't understand, Ax broke in, a blue cloud materializing and  
  
condensing near the bed. What does... he stopped himself as he  
  
remembered something he saw on a human TV show. Several  
  
shows, actually. Something about a human custom of treating their  
  
dead.   
  
He understood then. He wish he didn't.   
  
Her legs still changing, Rachel tottered over to Tobias' bed in  
  
silence. Disbelieving, she tore the sheets off with her still changing  
  
hands, and forced herself to look down at one of the few people she  
  
cared for more than herself. He laid in peace, his sorrow torn face  
  
eased from all of the pain he had ever felt. The one she cared for  
  
more than anyone ...   
  
Rachel cried. Her now human eyes closed tightly in pain, her fists  
  
clenched tightly in bloodless balls, oblivious to everything except  
  
the image of Tobias lying still in the bed, Rachel cried.   
  
Ax, nearly fully Andalite again, looked down sadly at the body of  
  
his best friend, keeping one eye on Rachel. He just stared, his  
  
warrior spirit crying out. He thought Tobias was safe. He should  
  
have been safe.   
  
Marco stood back with the unmorphed Jake, tears brimming in his  
  
dark eyes. He couldn't say anything. Nothing at all...   
  
Jake stood next to his best friend, deliberately staying as an owl.  
  
He knew he wouldn't be able to take it if he changed back.   
  
And Rachel continued to cry, her hurtful anger growing to protect  
  
her from collapsing. Slowly, her sobs ceased, but she continued to  
  
shake in grief and anger.   
  
"He was supposed to be safe," she whispered through clenched  
  
teeth. Her hate-filled eyes turned to Marah, tears still streaming out  
  
of them. "He was supposed to be safe!" she screamed, reaching  
  
down and throwing the bed covers back over Tobias' face. Not  
  
taking her eyes off of the weak queen, Rachel screamed at her  
  
"You hear me? He wasn't supposed to die! Not with *you*  
  
watching."   
  
Marco's eyes widened as he watched Rachel's outburst. Rachel  
  
had a temper, but she doesn't blow up. Not like this when they  
  
weren't fighting. Gingerly, he placed himself between the bigger  
  
girl and Marah, somehow hoping that he could slow her down a  
  
bit.   
  
"Rachel "   
  
"Out of my way, Marco," Rachel snapped at him as she strode  
  
towards the queen. Without waiting for a reply, she shoved him  
  
roughly to the side. Tiny Marco fell on his behind. Hurriedly, he  
  
scooted back.   
  
Rachel! Jake called out, quickly demorphing in hopes that, if he  
  
were human, he would get to her before she hurt anyone.   
  
She ignored him.   
  
"Well?" Rachel continued, her eyes blazing. "Why? Tell me!" She  
  
was right above the queen, her hands still clenched in fists, so tight  
  
that her knuckles were white.   
  
Marah didn't answer. She was too tired to answer.   
  
Suddenly, Ax was there. A blue-furred, tightly muscled limb tipped  
  
with the characteristic blade swung in front of Rachel, wrapped  
  
itself around her torso, and lifted her up off her feet.   
  
"I'd make a joke," Marco muttered, "but I want to live after he lets  
  
her down."   
  
Rachel squirmed violently for a second. "Let me go, Ax!" she  
  
yelled. Ax just held on tighter. After a moment, she finally stopped  
  
struggling, but her wet eyes were still burning with anger.   
  
"Rachel, calm down," Jake evenly said to her, now more human  
  
and bird.   
  
Slowly, Marco pushed himself up and looked at Tobias' bed again.  
  
Tears welled up in his eyes again, but he refused to let them fall.   
  
After a couple more moments, Rachel slumped her head. "You can  
  
let me go, now," she said. Reluctantly, but with his characteristic  
  
care, Ax set her down and unwrapped his tail.   
  
Slowly, she raised her grief-torn face and looked directly at Marah,  
  
who had not moved from her spot. "What happened? Who did  
  
this?" she asked bluntly, her voice cracking a bit. Her friends  
  
nodded wanting to know the same.   
  
Finally, Marah raised her head and looked at the young saviors.  
  
Her face was tired once more, the little bit of energy she had  
  
received from Cassie used up.   
  
"The castle was attacked," she started softly. "Spydr's took  
  
everyone by surprise." She paused a moment, catching her breath  
  
and not wanting to continue. "Tobias and I were isolated. And once  
  
we were alone, David attacked."   
  
"No way!" Marco exclaimed.   
  
Marah heard Jake's sudden intake of air. The others' eyes widened  
  
tremendously in shock. All four of Ax's eyes stared at her.  
  
Rachel's bottom lip quivered, and she bit it to no one could see.   
  
"Tobias was not hurt, but David poisoned me. I kept Tobias  
  
breathing as long as I could, but without someone else there to help  
  
me, ..."   
  
Rachel turned away. "I could not support him. He died before the  
  
sun was gone."   
  
"Tobias?" Rachel whispered, a tear falling down her face. "I'm  
  
sorry."   
  
Behind her, Ax bowed his head. He didn't hear her whisper, too  
  
deep into his own sorrow. He would avenge his best friend, but  
  
now was the time for grief. Not later, when he would hunt that  
  
traitor down himself.   
  
Ax wished he could cry in his Andalite body. But only humans  
  
have that release.   
  
Beside the queen, Marco and Jake cried, too. But neither of them  
  
missed Rachel's whisper, and exchanged questioning glances.   
  
"I'm so sorry," Rachel whispered again.   
  
{Mother,} Ariana broke in, unnoticed. {Almost done. Just a little  
  
bit more ...}   
  
"I should have ..." Suddenly, the door flew open. Rachel stopped,  
  
and she and her friends looked up at the person who had just burst  
  
through the newly opened door.   
  
Cassie stood there, mouth hanging open as she stared at her  
  
friends. Cradled in her right arm was a heavy looking book.   
  
"Cassie!" Rachel shouted, suddenly standing up. "Where have you  
  
been?"   
  
Cassie winced, then looked at her friends sympathetically. She  
  
wasn't fast enough in the library when she went book hunting.  
  
"Um ... hi," she started lamely. Her face brightened, though, as she  
  
went on with, "I've been in the library."   
  
Rachel stared at her friend for a moment. "In the library?!?" Rachel  
  
nearly shrieked. She couldn't believe this. Tobias died, and her  
  
best friend went to the library?   
  
Nodding, Cassie walked over to the desk next to Tobias' bed and  
  
put the heavy book down. Quickly, she opened the covers and  
  
started turning pages, hope written all over her face. "There was  
  
something I thought I read, just before I got ready for the dance last  
  
night. It took me forever to find just now, but if what I read is true,  
  
we can still save Tobias!"   
  
Silence.   
  
"Is your head OK, Cassie?" Marco asked. "Your head wasn't  
  
bumped when the castle fell on you or anything like that?"   
  
"Shut up, Marco," Rachel snapped at him before turning back to  
  
Cassie. "What did you find?" she asked, unsure if she should feel  
  
hopeful, anxious, or concerned.   
  
Cassie smiled warmly at her friend, then turned back to the book  
  
and found the page she wanted. There was an off-white unicorn  
  
colored on it, rearing up on its hind legs as it stood on a glassy  
  
lake.   
  
"According to legend," Cassie went on, "Unicorns are very rare,  
  
maybe even extinct. They are magical creatures, but they do more  
  
than heal." she looked up at her friends. "They may be able to even  
  
banish death. Maybe even raise the dead."   
  
Rachel sucked in her breath sharply, understanding where Cassie  
  
was going with this. All four of Ax's eyes landed on Cassie and  
  
stayed there. Jake smiled as he looked at Cassie, encouraging her in  
  
his own silent way. Marah, Ariana, and the others in the hall were  
  
silent, some shaking their heads in disbelief and pity.   
  
Marco shook his head skeptically. "Way too many maybes' there,  
  
Cassie," he pointed out. "When even a legend isn't sure ..."   
  
"What are you trying to say, Marco," Rachel snapped, cutting him  
  
off as she turned on him. "That she shouldn't try at all?"   
  
Marco backed up from her angry eyes and raised his hands in front  
  
of him. "No, just that we shouldn't get our hopes too far up," he  
  
answered evenly.   
  
"We'll need to find a unicorn first, though," Jake put in, caught up  
  
in Cassie's excitement. "Then we'll know for sure if it could bring  
  
back Tobias."   
  
There is no need, Ax put in unexpectedly. Cassie has already  
  
acquired one.   
  
Jake and Rachel stared at Ax. Marco looked stunned, then a  
  
satisfied smirk spread across his face. Cassie smiled softly,  
  
nodding her head.   
  
She acquired the unicorn soon after I was rescued, Ax  
  
explained. He paused. Long story.   
  
Marco stared at Ax in amazement. "You actually didn't go into the  
  
technical details? Wow!"   
  
Smiling at the banter, Cassie turned to Rachel. Feeling her eyes on  
  
her, Rachel looked at her friend.   
  
"Do it, Cas," Rachel urged her. Rachel reached down and pulled  
  
the covers off Tobias, then stepped back, inviting Cassie to start  
  
morphing.   
  
Cassie nodded, then bowed her head and closed her eyes. Everyone  
  
became silent.   
  
The morph began with Cassie turning a silvery white. The brilliant,  
  
shimmering fur flowed from the crown of her head to the tips of  
  
her toes. Her eyes moved to the sides of her head, and her face  
  
extended forward. Her ears crawled up the sides of her head, and  
  
her curly hair straightened out, grew long and silky, and moved to  
  
the infamous mohawk position before growing out into the flowing  
  
mane. Her limbs lengthened and thickened, ending in delicate goat  
  
hooves. She fell down on all fours, and as she fell, a white lion's  
  
tail extended from the base of her spine. Lastly, a single spiraling  
  
horn of purest ivory grew from her forehead. It shone, and the  
  
candle-lit room seemed to be much brighter.   
  
A peace and tranquility unsurpassed by any prayer or song entered  
  
the room, banishing bitterness, fear, and anger.   
  
"Cas?" Rachel began, then stopped, not really wanting to say  
  
anything. The anger and fear was gone, true, but the sadness  
  
hanging thick in the air was not.   
  
Without a word, Cassie waited for the unicorn instincts to hit. She  
  
didn't have to wait long.   
  
First came a wave of agitation. There were humans all around her,  
  
none of them pure in heart. She was trapped! She had to get away.   
  
Before her terror took over, it was overwhelmed by another  
  
emotion, sadness. Deep, painful sorrow all around her except in  
  
one place. There was an empty area in the room, right in front of  
  
her where a human lay empty. Compassion filled the unicorn's  
  
heart, replacing the anxiety, and she wanted to refill that emptiness.  
  
Soon, Cassie was back in control, and she and the unicorn knew  
  
what to do.   
  
Lowering her head, Cassie gently touched her horn to Tobias'  
  
chest. Darkness gathered, and soon she could see nothing.   
  
***   
  
{Tobias,} she heard herself call out. No answer.   
  
All around her, Cassie searched the darkness, wondering where  
  
Tobias would be. She looked down at herself, and was slightly  
  
surprised to find that she was no longer in the unicorn's body. The  
  
unicorn itself stood beside her, impatiently stamping a hoof in the  
  
black emptiness. Then Cassie realized that she shouldn't have been  
  
surprised at all. She and the unicorn were not one and the same.   
  
As the unicorn stamped, the darkness drew back from the her,  
  
leaving a small lake of grey surrounding her and the pure-hearted  
  
human next to her. The unicorn looked meaningfully at Cassie, and  
  
Cassie somehow understood what it wanted her to do.   
  
{Tobias,} she called out again, louder than before. This time, she  
  
had an answer.   
  
{Cassie?} a voice coming from all around her questioned. {Is it  
  
you, Cas? What are you doing here?}   
  
{Yes, it's me, Tobias,} Cassie answered. {I'm here to take you  
  
back.}   
  
For a while, there was no answer. Then there was a flash of light so  
  
bright that if it wasn't for the fact that she was no longer using her  
  
physical eyes, Cassie would have been blinded. And stepping out  
  
of the light was a full grown man. His hair was a dirty blond, and  
  
his eyes a sad blue, and he looked very, very familiar. The sea of  
  
grey flowed through him, as if he was not really there.   
  
{Tobias?} Cassie asked in shock. {Is that you?}   
  
The man before her nodded, and smiled his sad, familiar smile.   
  
{But how?} Cassie asked, thoroughly confused.   
  
{It's a complex system,} the ma , no, Tobias said. {How the  
  
afterlife is set up makes sense, in a way, but I made a promise to  
  
not tell anyone about it.} His smile widened a little, for whatever  
  
reason, Cassie couldn't even imagine. {But how did you come to  
  
being here, Cas?} Tobias continued. {You're not dead.}   
  
{I know,} she answered. {How can you tell? I was in unicorn  
  
morph when I came to get you.}   
  
Tobias shrugged. {Just look at yourself.}   
  
Cassie hesitated for a moment, wondering what Tobias was getting  
  
at, but still looked down, checking every leg, hand, arm, finger, and  
  
all of the rest of her body parts. She couldn't see what was wrong,  
  
though, because nothing was different.   
  
She looked back up at him, a question in her eyes.   
  
{You're still a kid,} Tobias explained, {and the mist is not going  
  
through you. You're still alive.}   
  
Cassie checked herself again. The grey mist curled around her as it  
  
grazed her arms, as if she was solid. And she really hadn't changed.  
  
Not like Tobias had. Then she understood.   
  
{I'm sorry,} she apologized sadly.   
  
{What for?} he asked nonchalantly. {Besides, you still haven't told  
  
me what you mean by bringing me back.}   
  
Cassie paused for a moment. Behind her, the unicorn stamped its  
  
hoof impatiently.   
  
{Everyone wants you back, Tobias, especially Rachel,} she started,  
  
{I found and acquired a unicorn, so I can bring you back from this  
  
place.} Then her eyes lit up in excitement. {You can be alive  
  
again, Tobias!} She started to smile, but slowly her smile fell as  
  
she watched Tobias.   
  
Tobias didn't smile as she told him the news. He didn't take a  
  
single step towards her. His sad eyes didn't brighten. Instead, the  
  
corners of his mouth turned down from their slight smile, his eyes  
  
darkened a little, he hung his head, and he slowly turned to walk  
  
away in the mist.   
  
{No!} Cassie cried, her eyes widening as she realized what Tobias  
  
was going to do. Shocked at her friend's reaction, she reached for  
  
him, but as she grabbed for his arm her hand passed through him.  
  
{What did I say?} she pleaded desperately.   
  
Tobias stopped as he felt her dismay. He sighed in exasperation,  
  
then turned back to her. {I can't go back,} he told her sadly.   
  
Cassie was shocked, and her face showed it. {Why not?}   
  
Tobias paused a moment, his head bent down as he thought of how  
  
to best say what he meant to say. {I, well ... I made a deal with  
  
someone,} he started out hesitantly. {I had to,} he continued  
  
hastily, almost defensively, {or you guys would've never gotten  
  
home.}   
  
{What are you talking about, Tobias?} she asked, confusion laced  
  
in her "voice." {We're not home.}   
  
Tobias stared at her. {What? What do you mean?}   
  
{No,} Cassie answered sadly. {If we were, I wouldn't have been  
  
able to reach you, since I wouldn't have been able to turn unicorn.}   
  
Tobias stared at Cassie some more. She squirmed uncomfortably  
  
under his stare. Even as a human, his gaze was penetrating.  
  
{Tobias, what is it?}   
  
Suddenly, Tobias was mad. His hands clentched, his eyes  
  
furrowed, and Cassie could feel his anger. If he was still alive, his  
  
face would have been red.   
  
{He betrayed me!} Tobias yelled. {He didn't hold up his end of the  
  
bargain.}   
  
{Who?} Cassie asked desperately, frightened at Tobias' outburst.   
  
For a while, Tobias didn't say anything. His ghostly fists clentched  
  
tightly, his eyebrows furrowed and his jaw set, Tobias just stood  
  
there, waiting for his anger to go down. Slowly, his rage dissipated,  
  
and he relaxed a bit.   
  
{You're bringing me back?} he finally asked, though it was more  
  
like a statement than a question. Cassie nodded. {Then I'm  
  
coming.}   
  
He held his arm out to one side, and Cassie heard a screech. There  
  
was a flash of light, and as it faded away Cassie saw a familiar  
  
red-tailed hawk resting on Tobias' outstreached arm.   
  
{I'm ready,} Tobias finally said to Cassie, who stood there  
  
dumb-founded. The Hawk Tobias cried in agreement.   
  
The unicorn neighed, then turned and walked away, and as she  
  
walked a white path formed beneath her feet. The path cut through  
  
the sea of grey and the blackness beyond, and it flowed into the  
  
distance. Suddenly, a light at the end of the path shone, and as  
  
Cassie watched, the light grew.   
  
The unicorn paused on the white path she had created and looked  
  
meaningfully back on the adult Tobias and the hawk perched on his  
  
arm. Understanding, the Turning Point stepped onto the path and  
  
followed. As soon as Tobias reached her, the unicorn continued  
  
following her path, Tobias following.   
  
Cassie watched in silence, glad and troubled at the same time. A  
  
half smile tried to creep across her face, and after a seemingly long  
  
time, it succeeded.   
  
Tobias is back,' Cassie thought happily, forgetting about what  
  
Tobias had told her. That is all that matters now.'   
  
And, her smile becoming brighter, she faded away. And just as the  
  
darkness closed in around her, a warm, yellow-red light grew.   
  
***   
  
All was silent in the room where Tobias had laid for a full day. The  
  
candle light wavered, casting eery shadows that somehow didn't  
  
seem to belong in the tense stillness. The unicorn horn touching  
  
Tobias' chest had glowed for a long time...   
  
The horn stopped glowing, and Cassie pulled away. And faintly,  
  
nearly imperceptibly, Tobias sighed.   
  
***   
  
Outside and below the window, where the moat met the steep  
  
banks, a shadow within the shadows crawled out of the water. A  
  
miserable shadow with eight legs and sinister fangs.   
  
The creature collapsed on the shore in exhaustion. The moon  
  
overhead shone brightly, and its light reflected brokenly off if the  
  
spydr's wet body. It stayed there for a long time, concentrating on  
  
breathing and trying not to pass out.   
  
How? the spydr asked itself. How can I still be alive? It had  
  
been unconscious in the water for a long, long time ...   
  
No ... the spydr whispered. No!   
  
The spydr forced itself to its feet, its utter fatigue forgotten. It  
  
concentrated with all of its might on the image of a young boy ...  
  
no, on a small rat.   
  
Nothing happened.   
  
Panic rising, it tried again. Still nothing.   
  
No, it can't be happening. Not again, it cried in desperation as it  
  
tried with all of its might to change back. Its head hurt from the  
  
strain, and it couldn't breathe.   
  
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.   
  
David screamed. He screamed as loud as he could in agonizing  
  
wails, but the window was too far up, and nobody heard.   
  
***   
  
Later ...   
  
The moon was setting, the unfamiliar stars were bright, the air was  
  
cool and moist, and clouds reflected grey and white in the solitary  
  
starlight. Rachel sat on Tobias' bed, silently watching her friend.  
  
He had not looked so healthy, so ... alive, for what seemed like  
  
such a long time, and Rachel marveled at the color in his cheeks,  
  
and how steady and strong his breathing was.   
  
She smiled. She didn't have to ... obey Crayak to save him. Jake  
  
was alive and well, and she had not lost any of her friends in the  
  
fight against Zilos' army. And Tobias is back, back as his true self.  
  
He would no longer live in danger, in uncertainty. Yes, he may  
  
miss his powers, but since she and her friends were never going to  
  
be able to return to Earth anyway, there was no need for morphing.   
  
The door behind her opened and someone with hooves walked  
  
daintily in, interrupting her thoughts. That irritated her.   
  
"Hi, Ax," she said without looking back.   
  
Ax paused for a second, then he continued walking in. I did not  
  
mean to disturb you, Rachel, he said to her. But you must sleep.  
  
You tend to become rather irritable when you haven't had your  
  
rest, I have noticed.   
  
"I'm fine," she told him, still not taking her eyes off of Tobias'  
  
face. "And I'm not   
  
leaving him."   
  
Ax paused again, trying to think of a way to get the stressed Rachel  
  
to relax without causing her to become angry. An angry Rachel is  
  
not someone he would wish to face at any time of the day.   
  
Gently, he placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder. He will be  
  
alright, he started hesitantly. I will watch him as closely as you  
  
are. He is just as precious or almost as much so to me as he is  
  
to you. And you are tired, Rachel. You need rest.   
  
"I told you, I'm fine," Rachel argued, but there was less resistence  
  
in her tone, and she turned her head halfway towards him.  
  
"Besides, don't you need sleep, too?"   
  
Ax smiled with his eyes. I had already slept. Not enough for me  
  
to be completely happy, but more than you have had, or will have  
  
the rest of the night. But what will happen if you fall asleep as you  
  
watch him?   
  
"I am *not* going to nod off on Tobias," Rachel insisted, but a  
  
yawn betrayed her and escaped her mouth, and suddenly she really  
  
did feel very, very tired.   
  
"Alright, alright," she admitted, standing up and walking past the  
  
Andalite, her irritation gone. "But if I find you asleep in here in the  
  
morning, you're dead."   
  
I understand, Rachel, Ax replied, straining to hide his feelings of  
  
triumph. I won't.   
  
Rachel left, leaving Ax alone with his best friend. Ax looked down  
  
at Tobias' human face, and saw that Tobias' face was not peaceful.  
  
It seemed strained, somehow.   
  
Are you having a nightmare? Ax asked Tobias, though not loud  
  
enough to wake him.   
  
He thought about how Tobias may feel in the morning, and knew  
  
that Tobias may feel trapped, again. ...Like you had on your first  
  
mission. Or like the traitor, David.   
  
Thoughts of that villain made Ax's blood boil. Wherever David  
  
was, Ax was going to make him ... and Zilos pay. But he had no  
  
idea where either of them was.   
  
Ax stayed awake the rest of the night, faithfully keeping his vigil  
  
over the companion he thought he had lost to his captors.   
  
***   
  
Zilos woke up with a start. The air around him was frigid, and the  
  
harsh wind bit into his exposed flesh. The hard ground was bare,  
  
dead, and unforgiving as it sucked the heat right out of him. The  
  
sky was grey with pre-dawn light, though everything below the  
  
horizon was still black with night.   
  
Weakly, still clutching the unicorn horn in one hand, he pushed  
  
himself up to a sitting position. "Gargoyle!" he called out. "Come  
  
to me." There was no answer.   
  
"Gargoyle, I am your master. Answer me now!" But there wasn't  
  
any. There wasn't even resistence.   
  
"That little traitor," young, handsome Zilos scowled. "He will be  
  
well ~rewarded for abandoning me here."   
  
Slowly, the sun crept skyward. Just as slowly, the grey light in the  
  
sky filled the earth, too. And Zilos saw his hand.   
  
It was still black from the fire elemental attack. Black and skeletal,  
  
with only a bare amount of flesh still clinging to the nearly visible  
  
bones.   
  
"No," he whispered in shock and disbelief. The disbelief melted  
  
away, replaced by terror. "Nooo!!!"   
  
His eyes traveled up his arm. Nothing changed. The thin,  
  
blackened flesh clinging to barely covered bones rode up his arm,  
  
unbroken by any signs of health.   
  
Zilos' gaze traveled across his chest. No change. Down his other  
  
arm and to his hand, where the blackened unicorn horn was still  
  
being clutched tightly. A jagged crack ran from it's now dulled tip  
  
to its rough base.   
  
His whole body was like this, he realized, though the grey light still  
  
hadn't reach the ground. And if the body was still burnt to a crisp,  
  
than what about his ...   
  
"Noooo!!!" Zilos wailed in despair. Desperately, he touched his  
  
face with his free hand, but the sensitive nerves were dead, and he  
  
couldn't feel the bones underneath the burn scars. Frantically, he  
  
tried to pry his fingers off of the flawed unicorn horn, but he  
  
couldn't. Grasping for straws, he tried once more to summon the  
  
gargoyle, but he felt no power behind his call, and there was no  
  
answer.   
  
As the sun finally touched the horizon, he screamed and wept,  
  
unable to even feel the tears.   
  
***   
  
Outside the castle, the spydr crawled away, recovered from his  
  
shock. Hate and vengeance consumed his thoughts, disintegrating  
  
any other emotion, despair included. Oh, yes, he may be trapped  
  
again, but he'll be back. He will destroy the Animorphs, and the  
  
Queen. He just needed to prepare ...   
  
Before he reached the tree line, a dark aura gathered around him.  
  
Without a sound, David vanished, leaving no trace.   
  
***   
  
The sun had established herself well in the day when Rachel finally  
  
made her way down the long stone hall. She wore a fashionable  
  
purple dress over her black leotard, and her surprisingly  
  
comfortable shoes matched perfectly. Her hair was combed, and  
  
her eyes were bright, despite her fatigue. Right beside her and in a  
  
simpler blue dress was Cassie, looking as if she's had more rest  
  
and is not quite as enthusiastic as her friend. She looked decidedly  
  
uncomfortable, for some reason.   
  
"Don't you think we're a bit, well, overly-formal for a brunch?"  
  
Cassie asked in a hushed tone, trying to not attract any servant's  
  
attention.   
  
"Heck, no," Rachel replied, her bold voice carrying over to the  
  
nearby people. "We're going to celebrate, along with everyone  
  
else. Look," she said, gesturing around. Sure enough, even the  
  
servants were dressed in more spiffy clothing than normal, and a  
  
few waved at Rachel and Cassie as they walked by. One page, who  
  
accidently almost dumped into Cassie as he hurried out of a door,  
  
was dressed in a soft blue doublet, tunic, hose, and soft leather  
  
boots. He quickly apologized, bowed, then hurried on his way.   
  
"See?" Rachel continued triumphantly, gesturing towards the  
  
retreating page's back. "The air is alive with celebration."   
  
"Perhaps," Cassie admitted, making a face. "But I still think going  
  
to a brunch in a gown is a bit much."   
  
***   
  
"Warg, rug, it's all the same up against my demon,"Marco  
  
challenged Jake.   
  
"Yeah, right. No Baalrog could survive what a werewolf can take,"  
  
Jake answered in a very un-Jake like tone.   
  
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Boys will be boys, I guess." Cassie tried  
  
unsuccessfully to hide a sly smile.   
  
Ax, in human morph, looked up from his plate with inquiring eyes.  
  
The entire lower half of his face was smeared with various  
  
foodstuff. "Prince Jake, are you full?"   
  
"Of course he is," Marco started. "In fact, you can "   
  
"No!" The leader of the Animorphs promptly placed one arm  
  
between Ax and his own precious plate of food.   
  
Tobias, his face as expressionless as ever, hadn't even touched his  
  
food. He just watched the others, with no hint about his thoughts  
  
registering on his face.   
  
The royal family, too, was seated around the table, while a nearby  
  
servant girl took care of the diners.   
  
"Calm down, children" Lecrian advised the Animorphs, a sly smile  
  
on his face.   
  
"I agree," Herlim put in cheerfully. "It would not be good if Rachel  
  
turned into a dragon to prove that she has the most powerful form.   
  
"Rachel?!?" Marco questioned in mock-disbelief.   
  
"Yes, our darling Rachel," Herlim repeated. "She would loose all  
  
ability to nicely fit into this small space."   
  
Rachel looked at Herlim sweetly. "Is that meant to be an insult?"   
  
"Insult? You?" the prince laughed nervously as he broke out into a  
  
sweat. "Never you. Anyone but you."   
  
"Yeah, he'd loose his head if he did something as stupid as that,"  
  
Marco added cheerfully.   
  
Rachel turned her false sweet smile on Marco. He coughed  
  
uneasily, instantly quiet. She nodded her head in smug satisfaction.   
  
The servant girl smiled mysteriously, refilling Cassie's glass of  
  
grape juice. Cassie thanked the girl, prudently not getting involved  
  
with the banter, which continued after a few moments, despite  
  
Rachel's victory. For whatever reason, the diners just had to talk. It  
  
was almost a need. For a while, Cassie even forgot about what  
  
Tobias told her the night before, and most of the other Animorphs  
  
forgot the many dangers of the world in which there were  
  
permanently stuck.   
  
The serving girl continued smiling, seeing to enjoy the constant  
  
chatter.   
  
Somehow, the conversation moved from this fantasy world to the  
  
technologically advanced world that the children called home.   
  
"... and then I personally came to every weak-stomached victim in  
  
eye-sight's rescue by removing you from the mall, Ax," Marco  
  
finished with a laugh, his eyes glittering. "The women were truly  
  
impressed."   
  
"I bet they were," Rachel said, a bit of a smug insult in her voice.  
  
"Impressed with how someone as scrawny as you could possibly  
  
move him."   
  
Jake sighed as he remembered something. His eyes were suddenly  
  
sad and wistful. "I remember how Tom was like. You know, before  
  
everything happened."   
  
Marco nodded, a bit more serious. "I know what you mean," he  
  
said. Somehow, it just seemed appropriate to take this serious turn.   
  
"Remember how Tom used to play b-ball out on the court?" Jake  
  
asked, a bit nostalgic.   
  
"And how he creamed you every time?"   
  
"Did not."   
  
"Did to."   
  
Tobias's face lowered he listened to them.   
  
"Hey, Rachel, remember the time when you lost your control over  
  
your morphing power?" Cassie asked her friend, letting Jake and  
  
Marco argue and what was and what wasn't before they ever met  
  
Elfangor. For some reason, talking about the good times after  
  
meeting that great Andalite seemed appropriate, too. "You got to  
  
stay in a hotel..."   
  
"With adequate room service," Rachel interjected with a smile.   
  
"With adequate' room service?" Cassie repeated with a knowing  
  
smile.   
  
Rachel shrugged.   
  
Tobias, his face nearly unreadable except for a bit of furrowing of  
  
his eyebrows, kept listening silently.   
  
Ax, however, remembered something else entirely. "I look forward  
  
to showing my Andalite friends the wonders of you human's  
  
cinnamon bun," he added unexpectntly before stuffing another  
  
spoonful of food into his mouth.   
  
Tobias had it.   
  
"None of you should be here!" he burst out angrily. In the same  
  
moment, he suddenly stood up, anger apparent in his normally  
  
expressionless eyes. All conversation ceased. "All of your should  
  
be home, fighting Visser 3 and the Yeerks so that things can get  
  
back to normal. None of you should be here!"   
  
"Whoa, hold on, Tobias," Marco ventured as delicately as he could.  
  
He had his hands held out as if to calm the enraged boy down.  
  
"What are you talking about?"   
  
"None of you should be here!" he burst out angrily, coming to his  
  
feet. His typically emotionless face was flush with anger, and his  
  
blue eyes flashed. The royal family froze. The new, unfamiliar  
  
servant girl, who stood behind the king on the other side of the  
  
table, just looked at the young angry boy. The Animorphs were  
  
stunned and completely confused.   
  
"Tobias," Jake asked, "what are you talking about?"   
  
For a while Tobias didn't answer. Slowly cooling down, he opened  
  
his mouth to say something, then shut it again and sat, his eyes  
  
firmly directed to his untouched   
  
breakfast.   
  
"Just that," he replied, his voice still holding an edge of anger. "All  
  
of you Marco, Cassie, Jake, Ax, Rachel all of you should've  
  
gone home." He paused, and his voice grew softer. "The Ellimist  
  
should've taken you home."   
  
Cassie gasped, her eyed widening in shock and understanding.  
  
Rachel stiffened, but didn't say anything. Ax stopped eating  
  
altogether and looked at Tobias, worried and perplexed at once.   
  
The servant girl looked at Tobias in a peculiar way. For some  
  
reason, Tobias looked up at her.   
  
"I knew it, Iiii knew it," Marco remarked, feeling a bit put out. "If  
  
Crayak is involved, of course the Ellimist is, too."   
  
"Tobias," Jake asked cautiously. "When should he have taken us  
  
home?"   
  
Tobias hesitated, and his eyes tore away from the servant girl. He  
  
opened his mouth to reply, but he closed it again, and he looked  
  
down back on his plate.   
  
"When he died," Cassie answered for him, breaking the silence  
  
with her soft voice. Tobias lifted his eyes and met her gaze. "Am I  
  
right?" He nodded.   
  
Jake and Rachel had a pained look in their eyes. "Tobias?" Rachel  
  
started to say. "Why didn't you ..."   
  
Suddenly, without a flash of light, without warning, without a  
  
trace, the Animorphs disappeared.   
  
For a moment, nobody moved. Then it hit them of what just  
  
happened.   
  
Prince Lecrian blinked in surprise. "What?"   
  
Prince Herlim started to his feet, his mouth gaping open. "What  
  
happened to them?" he cried, staring at the spot where beautiful  
  
Rachel was just a moment before.   
  
Prince Kortimer sat quietly, his eyes wide with fright but focused  
  
as he stared at the spot where Tobias last sat. Princess Ariana, and  
  
Queen Marah, looked around, bewildered and frightened. Sir Eran  
  
jumped to his feet and looked around, wishing he had his sword.   
  
King Themis gave a start, and instantly took control. "Sir Eran," he  
  
barked to Ariana's fiance, "Get the guards and search the castle.  
  
Hurry!" The knight immediately ran towards the door, and soon  
  
disappeared down the hall.   
  
"What could have happened to them?" Herlim asked again  
  
frantically, hurrying over to the Animorphs seats and looking in  
  
them and under the table. "I can't find anything."   
  
"I can't hear them, Mother," Ariana quietly said to Marah beside  
  
her. "I can't find their thoughts anywhere."   
  
Kortimer, still sitting strangely calmly in his seat, slowly shifted  
  
his eyes over to the new servant girl.   
  
The girl was smiling.   
  
Before the youngest prince could give draw attention to her, she  
  
disappeared, as well. 


	7. Part 7

A week had passed since the children's disappearance. It was  
  
raining again. Already the castle had recovered, having been  
  
completely repaired from the rogue dragon's attack. And sitting on  
  
her bed, her diary/journal on her lap, Princess Ariana scribbled  
  
furiously, often dipping her feather into a handy inkwell. She  
  
started with that happened the night of the ball, and went through  
  
until the moment the Animorphs vanished   
  
"""""""""""""""""   
  
The whole castle searched high and low for them. Lecrian  
  
looked to the past and future (or tried to), Crimber used his linking  
  
sense, Father used his magic, and even I used my mind powers. But  
  
it was futile. The children disappeared, completely and totally.   
  
After several days, we all gave up. Whatever had spirited the  
  
children away, we cannot follow.   
  
Eran and I I had best finish with the children first.   
  
Last night, Lecrian had a final vision. This is what he said to me.   
  
~~~   
  
I saw a new creature on the land. A living corpse, its blackened  
  
flesh hung on its bones, and seared into its hand was a charred  
  
unicorn's horn. It wandered away from the kingdom of Levakh,  
  
other monsters scorning it and many actively trying to   
  
destroy it. But the unicorn horn kept it alive I fear that Zilos  
  
paid a heavy price for his power, Ariana, a very heavy price,  
  
indeed. Worse, the creature is heading for us here in Hivena,  
  
seeking vengeance. I warned Father about Zilos coming, and he is  
  
ready.   
  
The castle of Levakh lies in ruins. The prisoners in the dungeons  
  
and cages had escaped, and as they gained their freedom they tore  
  
down what little was left, including the mechanical gift that Zilos  
  
had hidden with the unicorn.   
  
A unicorn roams the land now. A single unicorn, and one without a  
  
horn. But the scar on its forehead was healing, and I saw that the  
  
horn would grow back in time. It is safely hidden in the woods near  
  
the border of the dragon kingdom, and the Dragon King knows she  
  
is there. He swears to protect her, and he always keeps his  
  
promises.   
  
Saurat has paid for his treason. Imprisoned deep beneath the earth,  
  
the renegade will never harm another living thing ever again.   
  
There was an island near a shore. A very small island, where  
  
nothing but small creatures lived. One of those small creatures was  
  
screaming in my mind, nearly blinding me with its unbearable loss  
  
and insanity. It was David, Ariana, the same one who sought to  
  
destroy the children and frame Eran and tried to kill Mother. I do  
  
not know if he still has his power, but I do know he cannot turn  
  
into anything he became here, and on the island there is nothing but  
  
other creatures like himself to turn into.   
  
I saw a battle. The children were there in the middle of it, and on  
  
all sides were black bladed creatures, giant tube-like creatures, and  
  
people wielding short weapons like the one David used on Tobias.  
  
Also, there was a creature like Aximili, only larger and surrounded  
  
by an evil aura that was almost tangible. Rachel was a "bear",  
  
Marco a "gorilla" - I believe you have seen this creature - Jake was  
  
his "tiger", Cassie as a warg-like creature called a "wolf". Aximili  
  
was himself. Tobias was there, and as a bird. Everything was as it  
  
was before they came here.   
  
Somehow, the children escaped. The evil creature that looks like  
  
Aximili turned into a terrible monster, but they still escaped. The  
  
monster was screaming something at them, something like "You  
  
cannot be here. You *must* not be here." Now they are safe, sound  
  
and whole, if not wholly out of all danger.   
  
There was a great place, where nothing was. It was an empty place,  
  
without even a floor. Half of this vacuum was filled with shifting  
  
light, the other with impenetrable darkness. On each side there was  
  
a single presence. The one within the light was unseen, invisible  
  
and filling the space. The one in the darkness was immense,  
  
dwarfing the sky, half-made of metal and the other half of flesh,  
  
and in place of a head was a single blood red eye.   
  
At last a form appeared in the light. It was the young servant girl,  
  
and on her face was joy. The little girl smiled up at the horrible  
  
giant, and said,   
  
"So, the little planet is safe?"   
  
And the giant of darkness scowled down on her. "It is."   
  
And the little girl laughed happily.   
  
~~~   
  
Lecrian's vision ended there. He said that it just faded to black,  
  
with the little girl's laughter ringing in his ears.   
  
There. I am done with the children. I will miss them terribly,  
  
despite my rather erroneous first impression of them, but I am  
  
excited. Very, very excited. You see, Eran and I   
  
""""""""""""""""""""""""""   
  
Someone knocked at the door. Normally Princess Ariana would  
  
have been annoyed at the interruption, but she recognized the  
  
particular rapt softness of the knock, and she leaped to her feet and  
  
ran for the door, leaving her journal on the bed.   
  
"Come in," she invited as she quickly opened the door. There on  
  
the other side was Prince Eran, her husband. He was dressed in old  
  
hunter's clothing, dirty and torn.   
  
Impulsively she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly in  
  
spite of his attire. Taken aback, Eran looked down at her, smiled,  
  
and wrapped his arms around her, too.   
  
"Sorry I took so long, Ariana," he apologized. "The hunt took  
  
longer than expected."   
  
"Oh, never mind that, love," she said sincerely, relaxing her hold  
  
just enough for her too look up into his deep eyes. "I'm just glad  
  
you're back."   
  
Their eyes met, their faces glowing with happiness. They kissed  
  
tenderly.   
  
Each one still holding the other, husband and wife entered their  
  
room, and gently shut the door behind. 


End file.
